Survivor Stands on Verge Of a Grand New Expansion - WSJ.com

Survivor Stands on Verge Of a Grand New Expansion - WSJ.com

Interesting article - a true capitalistic success story, complete with drama, cut-throat competition, bankruptcies and a meteoric growth. The article goes into details to push the concept of transformation from immigrant to a lifestyle of the Rich & Famous candidate...."Signs of Mr. Chatwal's largesse are evident in both the U.S. and India. In 2006, he organized a seven-day, three-city wedding for his son Vikram, now 38, a part-time Bollywood actor and party companion of Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, among others. The wedding, one of the most grandiose in recent Indian history, was filmed by Discovery Travel.

In the elder Chatwal's 45th-floor penthouse on the Upper East Side, many walls are covered with letters from politicians and photos of him with heads of state. He notes that he helped organize a 2007 New York fund raiser for Mrs. Clinton, then seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, that drew 1,400 people at $10,000 per table. 

Mr. Chatwal says his motivation in politics is to foster closer U.S. ties with India. He and his immediate family have directly donated a cumulative $305,000 to national political candidates, almost all Democrats, in the past 25 years, according to Opensecrets.org, which tracks political donations".

The linkage to India is well documented too :"In April, Indian President Pratibha Patil presented Mr. Chatwal with the Padma Bhushan, among the highest awards for Indian citizens, for his role in rallying U.S. politicians to support a civil nuclear pact between the U.S. and India, clinched in 2008. Various political parties in India denounced Mr. Chatwal's selection for the award, some citing his past bankruptcies and legal troubles.
"I see it as a great learning experience," Mr. Chatwal said of his earlier troubles..."

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The Concept of Seva

We all have heard of the concept of "seva" - at its base, seva means selfless service, i.e., doing work voluntarily or involuntarily without any thought for the reward. But its interesting to note that the concept, in its various forms, is prevalent among world's major religions as well - both in ancient and modern times.



In Sikhism, the overarching thought is that seva comes only to the lucky. Guru Nanak says 

saevak saevaa thaa(n) karae sach sabadh patheenaa || (Raag Soohee, Pg. 767)
The sevadar performs selfless service when he is pleased, and confirmed in the True Word of the Shabad.

In the attached article written by a priest, a comparison is made between Christianity and Hinduism about seva: "...And if the word “seva” is new to us as Orthodox Christians, we would do well to commit ourselves personally and corporately to a life of “selfless service to not only our fellow human beings but all living  things” as something that is will not only “bring far greater joy than mere material gain” but is also God pleasing and faithful to the example of Christ.

More recently, last week was Mother Teresa's 100th birthday - she embodied the spirit of seva in modern times - "Mother Teresa poses a challenge to societies which slip into selfishness. By imbibing the spirit of India and its culture she reminded every Indian that national borders were not barriers to the service of mankind. This angel of mercy, who found profound pride in calling herself an Indian, now hovers over millions of her admirers to whom she pleads, “Love has to be shared.”.."


At a different level is a book Invisible Acts of Power by Caroline Myss, which looks at the changing energy fields within humans with seva: "A young man, tattooed and pierced, ran to help an older woman with a bundle of packages at the risk of missing his oncoming bus. That act, coupled with her own experience of receiving a helping hand just when she needed it, got Caroline thinking: what are the long-range consequences that result from even the smallest favors offered to others? What really takes place in the energetic field of life when someone responds to someone else in need? "

 Myss offers some acts of "seva" which people appreciate:


1. Hold a door open.
2. Smile.
3. Offer a kind word and encouragement.
4. Give a compliment.
5. Listen without interruption.
6. Make a call when your intuition tells you to.
7. Offer a prayer for a homeless person.
8. Pray – period.
9. Forgive others and yourself.
10. Prepare a meal for a friend.
11. Refrain from judging another person harshly.
12. Remember that life is full of miracles and have faith that every difficult situation can change in the blink of an eye.
13. Remember the truth that there is no such thing as a small or insignificant act of service.
14. Keep your power and attention in the present time.
15. Begin and end the day in appreciation of either doing or accepting an act of service. 

In conclusion, Guru Arjan Dev guides us:

jis masathak bhaag s laagaa saev ||1|| rehaao || (Raag Bhairo, Pg 1142)
Whoever has good destiny inscribed on his forehead, applies himself to seva - selfless service. ||1||Pause||
Rajinder Pal Singh Bhandari

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Indian Drug Magnate Sets Sights on Health Care Sector

Indian Drug Magnate Sets Sights on Health Care Sector - NYTimes.com

Interesting story - tracks the history of Ranbaxy, as well as how the next generations take ideas learnt in advanced markets and apply them to staid domestic companies - thereby increasing valuations and opening new markets. The move to make Fortis the hospital provider of choice for a pan-Asian population is very savvy: "Last year, the Indian health care market was estimated at $38 billion, and given the country’s fast-growing, increasingly affluent population, more and more Indians are suffering from lifestyle diseases common to developed countries. India already has the largest number of diabetics in the world after China, for example, yet Indians still spend only $55 a year on health care. 

“There’s a huge gap in India,” said Mr. Singh. “The health care market in India is very fragmented. The corporatization of health care is still emerging.” 

While 70 percent of the country’s hospitals are government-run, private hospitals treat 70 percent of all patients, he said. And most private hospitals are small, with fewer than 30 beds, providing a big opportunity for larger operators like Fortis to use economies of scale to lower prices and increase profits. By introducing more advanced treatment methods, Fortis also aims to lower the average stay per patient, allowing it to increase volume..."

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Marissa Bronfman: A Magical Journey Through India: Eat, Pray, Love In Delhi

Marissa Bronfman: A Magical Journey Through India: Eat, Pray, Love In Delhi

More EPL. Sigh.
However, the account here of the blogger in Delhi is fairly accurate from a tourist's perspective - the pictures are real, but maybe I was expecting a bit more than the standard prose...

"I was amazed at what I had seen during my first two days in Delhi but more importantly, moved by what I had felt. I knew I was on the trip of a lifetime. That afternoon, back at Aman New Delhi, I met my batman from Aman-i-Khas - the next hotel on my itinerary - and we traveled together by train into the wilds of Rajasthan where I would ride a camel, go on tiger safari, explore the local village and play with monkeys at an ancient fort.." 

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Slumdog Billionaires

Slumdog Billionaires - By Sadanand Dhume | Foreign Policy

Simply Fly So you know about the Ambanis? What about Captain Gopi?

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Fire in the Hole - Foreign Policy

Fire in the Hole - By Jason Miklian and Scott Carney | Foreign Policy

"But plenty of Indians have missed out. Economic liberalization has not even nudged the lives of the country's bottom 200 million people. India is now one of the most economically stratified societies on the planet; its judicial system remains byzantine, its political institutions corrupt, its public education and health-care infrastructure anemic. The percentage of people going hungry in India hasn't budged in 20 years, according to this year's U.N. Millennium Development Goals report. New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore now boast gleaming glass-and-steel IT centers and huge engineering projects. But India's vast hinterland remains dirt poor -- nowhere more so than the mining region of India's eastern interior, the part of the country that produces the iron for the buildings and cars, the coal that keeps the lights on in faraway metropolises, and the exotic minerals that go into everything from wind turbines to electric cars to iPads..."

The new colonialism of "Eat, Pray, Love" - Eat, Pray, Love

The new colonialism of "Eat, Pray, Love" - Eat, Pray, Love - Salon.com


Sandip is at it again -I read and have been featuring his writing in my newsletter for a while - and in this article, he shows his wit again:


"But as her character complained that she had "no passion, no spark, no faith" and needed to go away for one year, I couldn't help wondering, where do those people in Indonesia and India go away to when they lose their passion, spark and faith? I don't think they come to Manhattan. I wonder if there could be an exchange program for the passion-deprived, a sort of global spark-swap..."
Keep up the good work, Mr. Roy!

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