"Back To School" is now a thing!

I never liked school. Apart from the mental strain of  having to STUDY, I disliked the atmosphere in which school happened. "Back To School" meant the 1st day was on a rainy day in June. This was compounded by the agony of having to trudge through water bodies (the school bus was discontinued after 7th grade, and since home was just 3 kms away, and since there was no private transport - the pater used to take the family rolls to work - walking to and from school was the only ambulation possible). The only saving grace was that school started at 11 a.m. so a lie-in, leisurely breakfast and a snack on the go was the general schedule. But all in all it was a dreary, dystopian situation that did the most to make me look back on school days with a shudder, even today.

But Back To School those days simply meant buying new school books, getting a couple of uniforms altered (my waist line ballooned in tandem with my height) and getting on with it.

I was first introduced to the Back To School "event" in france, where "la rentrée" (1st week of September) was a spectacle that almost put the migration of wildebeest across the South African veldt in the shade. It meant the return of people to normal routines after the summer holidays, and hordes of pink-faced children, pink-lipped college goers and sunburnt parents returned to school / college / work, grumbling quietly under their breath. Roads were jammed, the métro suddenly became packed and the slightly laid back summer attitude revved into high gear.

"Back To School" as a high-profile marketing concept was shoved under my nose in Dubai. Every brand, dick and harry here developed a halo over their heads and spoke reverently of "Back To School" like it was a divine event. It was the time of new product launches, promotions, events and generally anything to show that Dubai was FULL again, after being emptied out during the summer holidays.

Mind you, this was not really the 1st day of school, since the new year usually starts for most schools in April. The long summer break thus came after the 1st semester. But the hiatus of the summer break meant that the economy also took a break, and companies had to do something to bounce back.

Today, Back To School has become more a marketing than a scholastic exercise. From pens to tablets, backpacks to laptop cases, water bottles (with USBs if you please) to offers on anything that isn't nailed down, its all #backtoschool!! Hapless parents watch stupefied as schools become consumer outlets, malls sprout academia, and students have the last laugh as the newest toys are offered up to their insatiable appetites for "new'!!

Back To School is now truly A Thing!

Yes, I am a left-leaning liberal!

The recent elections in India generated many emotions - ecstasy, joy, happiness, disbelief, fear, sorrow and a sense of relief that this quinquennial exercise in "the world's largest democrazy" is over. The result was along expected lines (for once exit polls didn't fall flat on their faces) and a white-bearded gentleman (I used the word advisedly) retained his seat.

The highlight of this show was the continued tilt towards what is called the "right / conservative" (first seen in full force in 2014), aided by a high-pitched campaign promoting nationalist and majoritarian ideas and beliefs. The elections also witnessed a louder rant against the “left / liberals” – a group of hitherto somewhat invisible but apparently powerful folks who seemingly represent everything that is wrong with India.

The schism between left and right has been widening since 2014. India was a somewhat confused but clearly left leaning entity for many years after independence. In a country like India, riven by years of people-classification into boxes, the primary need after independence was to provide everyone a chance to improve his or her economic and social life through better access to education and opportunities. There was no earthly reason – so the left-liberal thinking went - why a potter's child (for instance) could not become a doctor, lawyer, engineer or a better potter! I believed this too, so yes, I am a left-leaning liberal.

Naturally in a country as huge as India, the concept of equal access to limited resources was going to take time to percolate down, and hence it was made part of the constitution to ensure a government commitment to make it happen. Leftist liberalism was meant to foster this enabling environment, in which a person's social or religious persuasion (or culinary habits) was not a factor. In fact, the very notion of leftist liberalism ensured that a tea-seller's son could become the prime minister of the country. A rightist, nationalist platform would have never allowed this child to rise beyond tea-selling, for that is supposed to be his "karma"! So yes, i am a left-leaning liberal.

However, the statist push after independence created a structure and mindset that relied far too much on the state to achieve better economic and social status and looked down on market forces (and also hard work. Why work when there are handouts?). The state was considered to be the mother-goddess. The government also professed a love and liking for state intervention at macro and micro levels and did nothing to discourage this reliance. Services such as education, jobs and other life-shaping experiences were relatively affordable, albeit with the proviso of having the brains or brawn to take advantage of this largesse.

Many beneficiaries of this structure, however, went on to subvert the principles behind it. Most of them went overseas, turned conservative and are today leading the chorus belittling the left-liberal from the comfort of their arm-chairs in foreign lands. So yes, I am a left-leaning liberal.

The very hand that fed us has been bitten! Suddenly the left-liberals have been painted as evil, interested only in private gain (which was supposed to be a right-conservative domain). Social media were flooded during the elections with content that belittled the liberals and made them feel like a piece of cheese. Clearly, there was no patience with this alternate ideology, and little or no tolerance towards anyone who professed to follow it. So yes, I am a left-leaning liberal.

And therein lies the darkness. We are steadily sliding towards a notion of nationhood that is defined not by economic development but by religious identity. Right-wing conservatism, while demonizing the left-liberal, forgets that the same LLs have been instrumental in getting the country to where it is today. Without the left-liberals we would be like Nepal, only bigger! The liberals promoted a duality of thought and action which accepted the individual for what she is, and did not define her by thought, food habits, language or liking for white beards. It is this very left-liberalism that has allowed the right to claim space over the years, and power in two consecutive elections. So yes, i am a left-leaning liberal.

Liberalism may be looking frayed at the moment, but it cannot be flushed down the right-wing toilet. For with only a singularity in our country, we run the risk of being governed like mindless machines. Without identity, thought or any idea of self. Which will go against the very idea of India as a “melting pot of cultures, languages, habits and cuisines”. so do we really want this to happen? or do we need a duality?

Yes, I am a left-leaning liberal.

is traditional media coming back in fashion?

since we all like to label anything and everything, i am part of "generation jones" or "generation x". born at the tail end of the 60s, when the beatles had just ended their maharishi binge, when the students’ revolution in paris exploded big time, and when "computer" was a word that only the eggheads knew. media then was the daily newspaper, radio, and the family / friend grapevine. and oh yes, the family photo album.

the last decade saw a breath-taking surge in the internet, leading to the development and propagation of a variety of new content dispersion methods (aka media). the development of tablets and smartphones made access to the internet easier and encouraged information consumption on the go, which fostered the 160-character infobyte. the internet also helped some very smart nerds design something called “social media” and “digital networks”. the means to spread, and access, information previously available only to a select few became completely democratic.

information and influence could now spread without barriers (it must be mentioned that digital media can influence far more subtly and insidiously than traditional media). anyone anywhere, could "post" anything, without 3rd party mediation or control. self-published content became the driver of information, rather than carefully curated and verified data. the onus of "reliability of information" shifted from unknown, erudite individuals (editors and publishers) to our neighbours, friends, colleagues and the tea-stall owner at the nearest railway station. the house-help retained her position as master information jockey, aided now with a mobile phone and cheap data to flash information, innuendo and gossip as the gospel across the universe (with apologies to george harrison). and most importantly, consumption of this media is free, leading to entry and exit at will.

this is in contrast to traditional media, which has restrictions on consumption (through paid subscription), has a physical form and shape (newspapers, magazines, allowing for leisurely and therefore more engaged consumption), is limited in reach (since only those who like the medium's ideology or focus will pay for it, and offers better and targeted advertising (since the brand can choose the medium which appeals to or mirrors its target audience). this allowed traditional media to tap advertisers and subscribers to earn enough to pay star “content creators” (journalists, anchors, and similar), have qualified media bureaux in important cities and generally keep the information flowing, and unbiased.

digital / online media forgot all this! the fact that it was open to all was surprisingly touted as the best means to reach a targeted audience, with minimal wastage and immediate engagement! it abjured the vary principles of targeting and offered itself as the best channel of communication in an increasingly wired world.

this is pure bollocks. digital media is like a woodstock gathering – open for anyone. a harley enthusiast can “browse” a website meant for chefs learning to make consommé. a fashion icon can be followed on social media by a scraggly, pimpled youth whose idea of fashion is burlap sacking. the only restriction is self-imposed, through which neither the harley enthusiast nor the pimpled youth will theoretically visit sites not meant for him. but that is expecting the average joe to have far more intelligence than is seen in reality. paywalled websites are a miniscule fraction of the internet universe, and most popular information is free and open to all. this allows individual biases, restrictions and power to play a far larger role in shaping a narrative than in traditional media.

acknowledging this, digital media companies in recent times have attempted to smoothen out biases through a process of automated ad targeting and buying. also called programmatic advertising (it is to be noted that digital media has birthed a lot more jargon in its short life than traditional media did in the couple of centuries of its existence). but programmatic advertising is ARTIFICIAL intelligence, not HUMAN intelligence. which removes the sensitivity to biases, restrictions, relatability and other factors which complete the entire engagement.

hence, the chances of an online ad being placed within a completely irrelevant context are vastly higher than in traditional media. this leads to higher chances of the brand’s reputation being affected negatively. recent controversies in this area have made big brands reduce or stop digital advertising and re-ignite their “passion” for traditional media. this in turn has made some prominent digital media companies reduce headcount due to a slowdown in revenue (mainly derived from ad campaigns). digital media is clearly going in for a much needed reboot!

so, to address the question of whether traditional media is coming back in fashion, my response is a resounding yes!

death is a...breath-taking experience!

i recently joined the vast army of people on this planet who have lost their father. the loss could have been in different ways, with different timelines and with different reasons. but the end result is the same for all of us - there is a gap in our lives which will never be filled.

my father lived his life guided by 1 or 2 key principles from which he never deviated. the 1st was the importance of family in all matters. not just immediate family, but everyone connected by filial / sibling bonds. he was after all the 8th of 10 children of his parents and knew perfectly well the meaning and importance of "large family".

the 2nd principle was discipline in every life routine. there was a time and a place for everything, and everything had to have a time and place. deviations from this rule were just not accepted and woe betide he or she who was late or otherwise breached the rules!

he loved books, crosswords, cross words, black label and chess - hallmarks of an intellectual who could hold his own in any argument (as was expected of a man who had three degree and had became a lawyer by the age of 21 years).

a sharp mind, a sharp tongue and a very soft corner for his grandchildren and all other children of that segment, all made my father a much-loved patriarch of the clan. i used to be quite scared of him as a child but over the years our relationship matured into one of easy camaraderie, of a deep but unspoken love. he had many regrets, of opportunities missed (plenty of them), of giving up personal choices at the feet of "family first", but he never let on to anyone about them. stoicism was his middle name, and he bore with a fortitude and grace seen rarely, a lot of what an unforgiving life threw at him.

his passing left me without the chance to catch up with him of what he had been up to in the 18 months since i last met him. and also the chance to be by his side after nearly 2 decades away from home. he left us in the same way as he had lived his life - quietly, without fuss and with dignity. indeed a very breath-taking departure!

goodbye papa, and thank you for everything.