Skip to main content

Taming of the Eagle...

After a 3 day trip of India, I feel really sorry for Barack Obama. The most powerful man from the most powerful country in the world was beaten at his own game - showmanship and power play.

First came the negotiations - The Americans came thinking they were negotiating for the nuclear deal. NaMo was keen on enabling the 'Make In India' and 'Smart City' initiatives knowing well the any commercial operation of nuclear power plants would take more than 5 years and will depend on signing a deal with Japan. Co-development/manufacturing is NOW and so is the development of Smart cities. NaMo got what he needed now while promising a future to his guest

Then came thought leadership - Analysts predicted that Obama would use 'climate change' to put India on a defensive. NaMo changed the rules of the game from 'carbon credit' to 'green credit' -> its more important to generate clean energy rather than just reduce omissions. The Americans did not get any assurance like they did from China but ended up committing a few billions to promote green energy in India.  Be it women empowerment, jobs or healthcare... the NaMo had a better vision and roadmap than Obama.

Next came showmanship - From fashion to cleverly crafted moments such as 'Maan Ki Baat' or the 'Chai pe Charcha', it was always NaMo leading and a helpless Obama following. Think of this - NaMo's 'band gala' gets more talked about then even the first lady's dress....

So baffled was Obama by the end of it all that he started quoting lines from DDLJ and gave a sermon about religion tolerance. For Indians, its bizarre that a man from the west preaches religion as all the major religions of the world have taken birth in the east.

The man who landed 3 days ago came as 'Mr President', the one who goes back now is 'Barack'...

I do not thing any other country could have pulled off this taming of the eagle with so much grace.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Manohar - One who could win hearts and minds

They say that it is easy to defeat anyone, winning people over is the most difficult thing to do. Manohar Parrikar true to his name dedicated his life to winning people over. My first interaction with Manohar Parikkar was 5 years ago. Elections had been announced and Manohar Parikkar was asked to address IT professionals living in and around Outer Ring Road in Bangalore. New Horizon College was the venue. On that lazy Sunday, I managed to show up at the venue 15 before time. Politicians are known to arrive late but Manohar Parrikar was already there mingling with the IT crowd. He speech consisted of 2-3 stories with foksy humor and wisdom. He wanted the IT crowd to engage in politics, to participate in nation building, I still remember his story "Once upon a time, Goa was known for the best watermelons. Every year post the harvest season, farmers in every village would invite people to taste the best watermelons for free. There was only one condition, they had to spit ou...
1 comment
Read more

Kindle Review @ India

Got my Kindle delivered today and altough its been only a few hours here's how Kindle works in Bangalore, India a) Purchase: I bought the Kindle Global Edition using my Indian credit card and got it shipped to a friend in the US who got it for me to Bangalore . Works out to Rs 13,000 as i saved on shipping and duties. b) Packaging is very neat , as Amazon claiming on the package - its a frustration free package , easy to get to your kindle in less than 60 seconds. c) Kindle ships with a US charger which is not much of an issue for folks in Banaglore as most homes have a converter of some kind. You can also charge via USB of your computer . d) Charging & Controls : Got the Kindle charged up , the Kindle quick start guide popped up . All controls are very intuitive and you can skip the quick start guide. Its was only seconds and i was at ease with my Kindle. e) Whispernet access : Kindle did not automatically detect the service provider in Banaglore. After repeated attempts when ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mahaghatbandhan Meltdown

Over the last 9 months, regional leaders had worked very hard to build an anti-Modi front. They did not contest seats, swallowed pride and also shared a platform with the very parties against whom they had contested all their lives. These regional parties did all this with only one hope - survival. They believed that if they all came together, they could put up a credible fight against Modi in 2019. It would be painful for each one of them to concede seats but at least survival was possible. The Mahaghatbandhan strategy was put to test during the bypolls. Vote banks were combined; lifelong enemies (BSP-SP) came together and the BJP was defeated in the bypolls. Mahaghatbahndhan despite its inherent contradictions seemed to work. Desperation was the binding glue. NDA, on the other hand, seemed to lose friends. The Shiv Sena remains miffed as it is relegated to a supporting role, TDP walked out as it was unable to take on YSR at the local level. On top of this, media build a ...
1 comment
Read more