How far is this true, I leave to the replies / comments of the reader. But on my part I would like to state that this observation comes after working for 5 years in rural India and spending more than 10 months in Afghanistan.

At the outset I like to say that there is no right or wrong. What we perceive is right and vice versa. So what an illiterate person does and what a literate one does is all correct. Both quote that they’ve learnt it from their surroundings, elders or in school. Basically both kinds of groups have their reasons for doing a thing.

At times the profile of an illiterate person comes to mind as that of a poor person, in not so clean clothes or generally a different personality. But this difference takes him a bit closer to nature as the nature has its effect on him / her. So when we compare a city man to a village man, the former has a better quality of life, better amenities etc. But a villager has higher life expectancy given the clean air and better amenities too, which may be his needs. At this juncture I clarify that, health care being in equal access to both.

An illiterate person goes about doing his affairs in a manner which befits and benefits him. He deals with money in a very practical manner. He doesn’t take cognizance of the net present value of money, internal rate of return etc. He is most concerned with how to maximize, utilize and save money. A literate person also goes about doing these above 3 things but in a different and at times a highly confusing manner. He takes advice from all quarters later to blame others for his loss (if any)!

An illiterate is really not an illiterate. He is a learned person in his own right. Just that he doesn’t hold certificates or degrees to substantiate the knowledge he has. Just that he can’t operate a computer, doesn’t make him illiterate. Unfortunately we see that today’s world is more poised towards being literate and being away from nature.

We get a closer to nature by going to hike, going to hill stations, taking a herbal spa etc. But this way are we really getting close to the nature? I also do not say that we all become illiterate and go back to the ages. My whole idea is we should learn from the illiterate and imbibe things that are missing in us.

It may be a great learning and a real awakening.

This school had an association from a UK educational institution. It had with the latter regular correspondence and interaction. This I’ve observed in India as well and has grown since the advent of the internet.

Most importantly for me, my informal interaction with the students was quite invigorating. I got a chance to really know a different generation of Afghans. They were shy at first, but gradually opened up. I interacted with students from class 2 to class 7. Though there was an intellectual difference in the two extreme classes, but there was a commonality too. That was to know and learn about this stranger (myself) in their school.

The exuberance that these kids demonstrated was amazing. They were absolutely confident in their speech and thoughts. They came from varying family backgrounds and showed an uncanny interest in the proceedings. I on my part, broke the ice by asking their names and which classes they belonged to. Thereafter I posed questions as per what I thought they would know.

Eg. 1 Which is the smallest & largest planet in the solar system. Of course most responded with the answer as Pluto and Jupiter. But what caught my eye was when they said Pluto is being not recognized as a planet! I was dumbfounded and tried to hide my ignorance.
Eg. 2 What is the capital of India? What is the spelling of bat, cat etc.

All these queries elicited a very positive response from the students. Their excitement grew and so did mine. I was happy to learn that occasionally these kids went out on picnics and excursions also. A fact hard to digest, in the light of the media reported tensions / disturbances, in Afghanistan.

But this was a different Afghanistan that I was discovering, far away from the prying eyes of the media. I wonder why is this not reported in the media!

What a monster Afghanistan has been made into by this MEDIA!

The dynamic situation of Afghanistan has made many Afghans into opportunists. We can’t blame them also. It is the unknown future that keeps them on the toes and on the lookout for the best.

The greetings / courtesies they exchange upon meeting one & another are also quite unique. It starts with SALAM Alaykum and goes on to the each person & vice versa asking the other about their health, family, home, general well being etc. To a Westerner it may seem quite awkward! But if you look at the life expectancy rate here which is around 48 – 50 years, you may well understand the greetings.

The Afghans prefer a sit down (on the floor) dining option. They lay out a special mat / sheet on which food is placed. The food generally comes in glass ware and each ones helps him to the serving. People dig into all dishes using their cutlery and seldom common cutlery is used. As a vegetarian I felt a bit awkward seeing the same spoon being used in all dishes. So I always take a big portion in the beginning which lasts me till the end.

Breads (naan) are always bought outside home. There are numerous bakeries which sell them. No one cooks bread at home except Bolani (potato / spinach stuffed bread). Green Tea is an important concluding course.

The Afghans are a valiant lot. History is a witness to their heroic deeds. Unfortunately the 3 decades long insurgency has taken a significant toll on this country. The income & literacy levels have really fallen. So when the west has a Koran Burning organized, the Afghans feel very passionate about the same. It is surprising to note that no other Islamic country raised a voice. The Afghans were the only ones demonstrating & killing people, mostly their own countrymen.

But the Afghans haven’t lost their pride. This is something which keeps their chins up. I salute these brave Afghans. Everyone (Alexander the Great, Mongols, British, Russian, Americans etc.) have meddled in their affairs. Ask in whose affairs, did they meddle!

A man eats two eggs each morning for breakfast. When he goes to the grocery store he pays Rs. 12 for a dozen. Since a dozen eggs won’t last a week he normally buys two dozen at a time. One day while buying eggs he notices that the price has risen to Rs. 16. The next time he buys groceries, eggs are Rs. 22 a dozen.

When asked to explain the price of eggs the store owner says, ‘The price has gone up and I have to raise my price accordingly’. This store buys 100 dozen eggs a day. He checked around for a better price and all the distributors have raised their prices. The distributors have begun to buy from the huge egg farms. The small egg farms have been driven out of business. The huge egg farms sell 100,000 dozen eggs a day to distributors. With no competition, they can set the price as they see fit. The distributors then have to raise their prices to the grocery stores. And on and on and on.

As the man kept buying eggs, the price kept going up. He saw the big egg trucks delivering 100 dozen eggs each day. Nothing changed there. He checked out the huge egg farms and found they were selling 100,000 dozen eggs to the distributors daily. Nothing had changed but the price of eggs.

Then a week before a festival, the price of eggs shot up to Rs. 40 a dozen. Again he asked the grocery owner why and was told, ‘Cakes and baking for the holiday’. The huge egg farmers know there will be a lot of baking going on and more eggs will be used. Hence, the price of eggs goes up. Expect the same thing at Christmas and other times when family cooking, baking, etc. happen. This pattern continues until the price of eggs is Rs. 60 a dozen. The man says, ‘ There must be something we can do about the price of eggs’.

He starts talking to all the people in his town and they decide to stop buying eggs. This didn’t work because everyone needed eggs. Finally, the man suggested only buying what you need. He ate 2 eggs a day. On the way home from work he would stop at the grocery and buy two eggs. Everyone in town started buying 2 or 3 eggs a day.

The grocery store owner began complaining that he had too many eggs in his cooler. He told the distributor that he didn’t need any eggs. Maybe wouldn’t need any all week.

The distributor had eggs piling up at his warehouse. He told the huge egg farms that he didn’t have any room for eggs would not need any for at least two weeks.

At the egg farm, the chickens just kept on laying eggs. To relieve the pressure, the huge egg farm told the distributor that they could buy the eggs at a lower price.

The distributor said, ‘ I don’t have the room for more eggs even if they were free’. The distributor told the grocery store owner that he would lower the price of the eggs if the store would start buying again. The grocery store owner said, ‘I don’t have room for more eggs. The customers are only buying 2 or 3 eggs at a time. Now if you were to drop the price of eggs back down to the original price, the customers would start buying by the dozen again’.

The distributors sent that proposal to the huge egg farmers but the egg farmers liked the price they were getting for their eggs but, those chickens just kept on laying. Finally, the egg farmers lowered the price of their eggs. But only a few paisa (cents).

The customers still bought 2 or 3 eggs at a time. They said, ‘when the price of eggs gets down to where it was before, we will start buying by the dozen.’ Slowly the price of eggs started dropping. The distributors had to slash their prices to make room for the eggs coming from the egg farmers.

The egg farmers cut their prices because the distributors wouldn’t buy at a higher price than they were selling eggs for. Anyway, they had full warehouses and wouldn’t need eggs for quite a while. And those chickens kept on laying. Eventually, the egg farmers cut their prices because they were throwing away eggs they couldn’t sell.

The distributors started buying again because the eggs were priced to where the stores could afford to sell them at the lower price. The customers starting buying eggs by the dozen again.

Now, transpose this analogy to the gasoline (oil) industry.

What if everyone only bought Rs. 200.00 worth of petrol each time they pulled to the pump? The dealer’s tanks would stay semi full all the time. The dealers wouldn’t have room for the gas coming from the huge tanks. The tank farms wouldn’t have room for the petrol coming from the refining plants. And the refining plants wouldn’t have room for the oil being off loaded from the huge tankers coming from the oil fiends.

Just Rs 200.00 each time you buy gas. Don’t fill up the tank of your car. You may have to stop for gas twice a week, but the price should come down.

Think about it.

Also, don’t buy anything else at the fuel station; don’t give them any more of your hard earned money than what you spend on gas, until the prices come down…’

Just think of this concept for a while. It may put an end to oil rich countries fleecing the poor and developing countries….

My parents chose me, because God gave them a choice. He said, choose a son as long as your choice is for a boy!

My various school teachers chose me, as they were looking for a suitable candidate who could be brought up to the mark.

My sports teachers chose me, as they wanted to teach me the art of dribbling, batting, fielding, serving, shooting, riding, swinging etc.

My professors chose me at college as they wished to refine a lad fresh out of school in finance, marketing, HR, accounts and international business.

My first employer chose me as I was fresh out of college, fresh mind, young blood and I think above all cheap candidate due to no experience.

My second employer chose me as I had developed a fire in my belly, wanted to take calculated risks and was prepared for the grind.

My current employer gave me this assignment because he saw in me the desire to work internationally, take up a challenge in a war torn country and be grinded more.

My mentor chose me, as he wanted to nurture a mid career professional who generally wander at this crucial juncture.

Now on a more personal note, my wife chose me, as her father chose me! But the fact of the matter remains that, I offered her a choice, to reject me. This was, in case she was being forced into this marriage. In that case, I would go tell her father, that I was not interested in this match.

Well many people choose to talk to me, to confide in me, use me as a sounding board etc. I have no issues talking to strangers and making friends out of casual acquaintances. I think I choose people on their facial expressions, their clothes, their actions & gestures and the way they ultimately talk. It sounds odd but, trust me.

When I was I Holland last year for a conference, I was very impressed by a lady. Due to the name tag she wore, I saw she was an Argentine. The first song that came to my mind in an instant was that of Madonna, “Don’t cry for me Argentina”. Well somehow at an opportune time I sang for her! How thrilled she was hearing the same in a distant land.

We all make choices, right or wrong, are not important. But seldom have we realized, that the more wrong choices we make and learn from them, the easier, life becomes! It’s so, because we solve one more puzzle on our way and learn from it. This learning is highly important as if we don’t learn, we will get left behind or our progress will be too slow.

Learn the lessons before its time to implement what you’ve learnt. A unlearnt lesson at the time of implementation put us back, set us back and wastes much crucial time.

I rap up by saying, ‘did I choose you as a reader?’
No you chose me and I am highly obliged by your kind gesture.

So last week when I met the Dean in Delhi, that future happening was sealed. I left a cold Delhi at 6 to arrive in a wet Jaipur a few hours into the day. Post lunch the palpitations started in me. But I was kind of prepared, the presentation was rehearsed, notes written and most importantly I decided to play the same by the ear. I tried to make the same interactive and engrossing.

I started with the usual round of introductions and thanks. Thereafter I presented my company VetServ, which I head. I started with our customized standard corporate presentation. For 15 minutes there was keen interest amongst the audience and the Dean took over. He projected my presence as part of their placement exercise!

I’ve always seen and observed that presenters are generally less bothered about their voice, clarity of thoughts and overall presentation. Many a times a good subject and discussion goes down the drain due to a poor presenter. Just as a poor idea brilliantly executed chances on its survival. Than a great idea with poor execution, which generally dooms.

Post Vetserv introduction I delved on the subject, as to what the students want? It was clear to me that like always, this audience too didn’t have a clear idea either. So I proceeded to show them a sample of how one can list ones wants. Thereafter I said, one may physically see if the want is 70-80% satisfied by doing a certain thing like taking a job or choosing a life partner etc. I suggested that one could also attach certain weights to the wants and work out a more mathematically accurate result.

I was introduced to this concept by Mr. Manoj Pant and has worked as a guiding light. I always believe that it needs to be passed on and benefits be shared. It is important to share one’s knowledge and wisdom for the overall benefit of the society. A simple thought that if I have a dollar and you have a dollar, we exchange it, we still have a dollar each. But if I have an idea and you have an idea, we exchange it, we have 2 ideas each.

Q&A followed my presentation. I was there upholding Afghanistan, its pride and challenges. I naturally shared my ideas, my thoughts and emotions about working in a conflict zone. But somehow people who haven’t been in these kinds of situations seldom understand one’s point of view. Is that human nature or lack of exposure? I do not know.

Post Q&A I did what I treasure the most. I showed them the 1st 20 minutes of the movie, “The Secret”. This cast a spell, on the students. I sincerely recommend everybody to watch this movie. It has an amazing power to turn you on and keep you engrossed. The Dean had also not heard about it and praised me for showing them.

More or less I had lived my dreams, my thoughts and certainly they manifested into reality. I was happy, but there was still something lacking. I immediately figured it out, it was humour. There was no way I was going to end like that, so I played a humourous video clip. Much to the amazement of the students, I got a thunderous applause and wound up the event.

Dean congratulated me and thanked me for the job well done. He surely popped in an offer for me to visit the college next month. I suppose it was a win win situation for all. I had made a certain start in public speaking and would go on updating my knowledge and wisdom interacting with young minds.

Has religion lost its relevance? Again I do not know but I can say with certainty that somewhere, somehow, some people etc. have gone wrong. In my opinion religion(s) was born due to the fact that people needed to be explained the unexplained. It was born because people needed to be tamed and balanced if they went astray. It was born because we needed a reward and punishment system for all our deeds. I leave the rest to your imagination.

But hey what happened, it started to be born because of each class of persons wanted an identity of their own. Then started the game of supremacy. Which still goes on till this date. I cannot understand why we have so many religions. Each one teaches us to be kind, considerate, peace loving, benevolent etc. Then why so many off shoots of the same?

Many a times I believe it is difficult to make children understand the same. The uncluttered minds throw up much better reasonings than the pundits, maulvis, gianis etc. We tend to suppress them, don’t we, lest our children be called traitor’s to our own religion. People live in communal harmony, inter religious faiths mix in happy & sad times. But when it comes to religion our paths digress. Why?

No hindu openly appreciates a muslim in a temple and vice versa. I think God divides us! I do not know. I feel very jittery as I write this and express my views. But our faiths certainly give us courage, morality, etc. which otherwise may have been absent. But it certainly doesn’t give us peace. If I want to be at peace with myself I need something more.

This is when we graduate and move on to the next level. This is where we see the relevance of religion. I can be a happy Hindu, Muslim, Christian etc. only if I see through the religion in its entirety. I seek solace in the bounty of nature, I believe in compassion for all the living beings. I practice the art of knowing & conquering one’s own self.

Many people may call this situation with many names. We shouldn’t care with the definition or terminologies as the same tends to be stereo typed or religiously tamed. I feel strange when people say that, ‘oh you practice yoga, then you must be a Hindu’ or ‘oh you do meditation, then you must be a Buddhist’! What I do, is for my happiness and satisfaction. I am a human and I need to be happy and satisfied. If am not then I will make many others, my way. I believe this is the root cause of all problems today.

It is we who breed dissatisfaction and unhappiness in the world. Stop this poison and reverse the flow. See then how the world makes becomes a better place to live in.

An old story comes to mind of: Somebody, Anybody, Nobody & Everybody. A task was given to Somebody, which Anybody could do, but nobody did and later Everybody complained!

Afghanistan is certainly a part of this world and humans work here for sure. So things could not be very different, I suppose. Like globalization has spread its tentacles everywhere and it has reached Afghanistan too. The Afghans have the best of everything. Like the best of automobiles, tv channels, clothes etc. For the managerial problems too they’ve come along. It’s the duty of people like me to set things right, because we aren’t grunt workers. I am certainly not one.

I am pro productivity and a person who likes to take these managerial problems / issues head on. Their successful completion gives me a high, in this dry land! I also certainly believe in the policy that either get convinced or convince the other person. Don’t leave a discussion midway or escape / duck the issue. Issues tend to have a multiplier tendency. They could boggle any sane person if left unattended for too long. I am sure we all face this.

Many a times I’ve had to say to my colleagues, “guys I am not getting up unless we resolve this issue or finish the deal.” It may seem very hard, but at the end of the day it saves a lot of time and effort. Time as one has to restart the agenda and issue from scratch next time. All this leads to duplication of efforts. Why waste precious resources?

Though there are a plethora of managerial experiences of all. I’ll be certainly grateful if you share some with me. It will enlighten me and we both will be rich! Rich with ideas, and experiences for the future.

Alexander the Great after conquering more than half the world, was shot in the heal, supposedly in Afghanistan by an Afghan. This led to ultimately his untimely death. Bringing down a great civilization, mid way. Similarly Jenghis Khan of Mongolia lost his empire here in Afghanistan. But not before leaving behind the Hazara community. This community still bears resemblance to the Mongols.

The early part of the 20th century saw the routing of the British Army at the hands of the Afghans. On a single day they slaughtered many thousands of their troops baring one man. This man was sparred so that he could narrate the war tales back home (INDIA). At this juncture the British were pushed deep into what is now Pakistan. Perhaps the Afghans never capitalized on that to capture more territory. They made a mistake of not extending their land till the Arabian Sea also. Had the reverse happened, Afghanistan would certainly have been a different place. Its land locked status would have been reversed.

But any how the period following from early twentieth century till 1978 was a period of peace and little progress. Afghanistan did not develop that much, it could have. It remained an isolated nation from the rest of the world. Again due to its strategic location, it was very vulnerable to be attacked

The Soviet Invasion of 1978 was the result. Later it was a huge sore for the Soviets of the era. They had perhaps discovered the mineral wealth that US has now discovered! Afghans fought tooth & nail with the Soviets. On a given day in Herat the Afghans fought with sickles, knives and farm equipments. As a result the Soviets were slaughtered and reduced to a minimum. But after a few days the rebellion was crushed by the Soviets.

All over Afghanistan we can see the remnants of the Soviet era. Tanks, jeeps and other military equipment lie scattered all across mountains and alongside roads. As we all know the USSR exited Afghanistan shortly before it got disintegrated. Afghan Invasion and the Chernobyl disaster were the trigger points for its disintegration. But what happened thereafter we all know.

The American support of the Afghan freedom effort sees the repercussions till date. Many jihadis and mujahideens of the past, are giving sleepless nights to the Americans now. It is amazing to note how the NATO contractors charge the US government protection money. The same is part of their contract for safe transporting of NATO supplies. It could be anybody’s guess to whom this money is finally paid to, by the Contractors. It is all their creation much like the Bhindranwala in Punjab (India) and Prabhakaran in Sri Lanka. India had to pay with the lives of two of its Prime Ministers.

Having said all this I do not know what the future holds for Afghanistan. But solutions need to be found as early as possible. US cannot let another Vietnam in the making for itself. Afghanistan (Central Asia) holds the key to the future of UNCLE SAM.

All this was in the last week of August 2010. Another fear was looming large before all. Kabul Bank is the only bank through which the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police personnel are distributed their salaries. Since everybody was withdrawing it was now being feared that these personnel will not get their salary at the right time. Adding a new twist, to the already fragile security situation. During this while I too went to the bank for withdrawing a paltry $50 as a test check case. Sadly I was turned down!

Apart from this, I wonder what had happened to the Afghans. The fearless and brave were the first ones rushing to the Bank for withdrawing their money. At work we all deliberated that withdrawing money is the worst option. There is a run on the Bank and we are the ones who are adding fuel to the fire. So decided to adopt a wait and watch policy.

In addition I wondered that all those who had withdrawn huge amounts had created a security hazard for themselves. Every household would have at least a sizeable denomination of Afghanis or Dollars stacked up in their homes. Fortunately during that period there was no report of increased robbery or theft in the Afghan homes.

But the biggest beneficiaries during this process were the merchants, I suppose. With huge cash reserves at their disposal and Id in the 2nd week of September 2010, was around the corner. People spent money to an extent that was not common or usual.

So on the whole this crisis was created deliberately. It is alleged the American power and lobby was working behind the scenes. The already complicated war was taking another turn in the run up to the Afghan elections. For the benefit of all I wish to highlight the fact that this war is not easy to understand and comprehend. The war started to capture and punish the 9/11 terrorists. But we all know the masterminds are still at large.

So the intentions may be to:
1. Control the 1 trillion dollars worth of mineral wealth of Afghanistan.
2. Have a strategic base in Central Asia to oversee China, India and Russia.
3. Any other you can think of.

Just for the record, NATO transport contractors are allowed to charge protection money in their contracts and bills. This means that US is kind of funding its enemies for waging the war. I leave you here to go around in circles, if you feel baffled.

Disclaimer: Expressions and views mentioned above are of the author. The author does not have any political affiliation.