The (Un)Common Misadventure?

CWG-Delhi-2010

Abraham Lincoln once said:

God must love the common man, he made so many of them.

It seems that God did not like the Indian common man as he made so many politicians and bureaucrats to make their life tough if not hell.

Amidst rising inflation, poverty and lack of basic amenities plaguing the common man, politicians are busy playing the game they play best: mudslinging.

The latest example is the (non-)issue about the CommonWealth Games (CWG). Two of the top-notch politicians of the ruling coalition are busy mudslinging at each other while the repute of the nation is at stake. The worst part is the truth that billions have already been spent, overshooting the initial budget and still things are chaotic. All this at the cost of hard earned money of the poor common man.

This speaks of amongst other the following failures:

• Lack of project management skills
• Lack of civil sense
• Probable Corruption
• Lack of people management skills

Old time arch-rivals senior Congress leader, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Suresh Kalmadi, Congress leader and Chairman of the organizing committee of the CWG, are busy making accusations against each other while the preparations for the games are in a limbo. To give the matter an even more shameful flavor, the recent revelations by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) ranging from allegations like:

• Award of works at higher rates – One of the accusations here are:

In the bid of L1, rates of some items and discount offered by the firm at the end of BOQ were tampered either by cutting or by overwriting in the price bid after opening in order to increase the quoted amount to avail the difference of Rs. 3,62,72,229/- between the next higher quoted amounts without changing the overall status.

• Poor quality assurance – One among a list of eleven accusations CVC’s inspection note reveals :

Lot of deviations taken from the approved scheme of the Government without obtaining the approval of the competent authority. Specially poles of 12 meter length (Agreement rate of Rs. 28,358/-) and 10 meter length (Agreement rate of Rs. 28,974/-) have been deviated in such a manner which is beneficial to the agency with extra burden of about Rs. 1,13,32,464/-.

• Award of work to ineligible agencies – CVC’s note states in one case:

“Work finally had to be terminated which resulted into time and cost overrun”

Source: cvc.nic.in

What is even more shocking and disturbing is the CVC revelation that the materials used in the construction failed “stress-test”. Basic safety norms are being openly flouted. Electricity installations remained to be tested for common checks like insulation test. With rains pouring and large crowd expected for the event, it is a dangerous proposition.

As different parties peg the amount spent on the games at different levels, everyone agrees that it has zoomed way past the initial estimates and the whole proposition to organize the games is being questioned. A Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India press release dated July 29, 2010 pegs the figures as below:

• Expected Income as per the CWG Organizing Committee (OC)  – Rs. 1,708 crore
• Expected Expenditure on condust of the games – Rs.2,394 crore (includes Overlays, Timing, Scoring, Result System and Games Time Sports Equipment)
• Indian Olympic Association (IOA) estimate of expenditure (2003) – Rs.655 crore
• Current estimates – Rs.11,494 crore (apart from expenditure of Sports Infrastructure and Conduct of the Games, also expenditure on Security, Broadcasting, Telecommunication, Training of Sportspersons, allocation to Government of Delhi etc.)

Some sources peg the amount at Rs. 35, 000 crores (close to USD 8, 000 millions, Indian per capita GDP– USD 3, 100).  Mani Shankar Aiyar also alleged that India had bribed the various nations to take the game.

"To take the Games, the Olympic association of every Commonwealth country was given $1 lakh ($100,000); it was given to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Britain. Those countries did not need this money," he said. "I would call it a bribe, I don't know what it is called from the legal point of view."

Source: EconomicTimes.IndiaTimes.com

Aiyar openly declared that he would be happy if the "Games are spoilt". Organizing such games and events are a good way to showcase the growth and cultural diversity of a nation to attract investment and tourism but the way this event is being managed, it will raise more doubts about Indian acumen and competence rather than creating a positive impact.

Mani Shankar Aiyar in action

"I am very happy with the rains, firstly because it will ensure a good agriculture for the country and secondly because it will ensure that the Commonwealth Games are spoilt," Aiyar said candidly.

Source: EconomicTimes.IndiaTimes.com

As of now the CWG seems to have become a White Elephant which no one is ready to own. Games OC Chairman, Kalmadi has already wiped-off his hand from allegations of corruption.

As the countdown clock on the games official page happily ticks away to the D-day, organizers are feeling the heat. CVC as well as the opposition parties and now even constituents of the ruling coalition are raising doubts on the successful conduct of the games. Delhi Finance Minister and a member of the Delhi government Commonwealth Coordination Committee, AK Walia has also gone on records, stating that he was not sure if all stadiums would be ready by the August 15 deadline for the Games.

Come October 15, 2010, the day the games begin: the world is watching.

Major Advertisers Sit on the Bench of This Year’s Super Bowl – ABC News

The following article appeared in: ABC News.

<Future of Advertising: Ads That Stare Back and Interact: Companies Use Social Networking, 3-D and More to Reach Consumers>

Major Advertisers Sit on the Bench of This Year's Super Bowl - ABC News

For advertisers, the Super Bowl is still the biggest game of the year. But in today's marketplace, the buzz isn't surrounding the ads during the game, it's the advertisers opting to sit on the bench instead that have programmers shivering on the sidelines.

For the first time in more than 20 years, Pepsi will not advertise during the game.

"That was a real problem for the Super Bowl because they are one of the biggest advertisers," says Suzanne Vranica, advertising columnist for the Wall Street Journal. "The economy is wreaking havoc with a couple companies. And you've got a couple companies, big companies like FedEx and GM, who are long-time Super Bowl fanatics, that have pulled out because of the economy."

Instead of paying an estimated $2.5 million to $2.7 million perSuper Bowl commercial, big brands are using social networking to connect with consumers -- hoping to click in a more personal way.

"Social networking is the newest thing for marketers," says Vranica. "You've got 60 ads fighting for attention, so if you use social networking as a marketer and drum up some excitement, you'll have people specifically watching out for your commercial that night."

Instead of buying pricey ad time, Pepsi is launching a reported $20 million digital campaign to support charity projects initiated by consumers. Not to be outdone, Pepsi rival Coca-Cola, which is running two Super Bowl commercials, will partner with Facebook to incorporate charity into their message.

"Every company out there has some kind of cause," says Vranica.

In addition to philanthropy, companies like Doritos and CareerBuilder.com are crowd sourcing their ads through social networking. All of this year's Super Bowl advertisers have Twitter pages, and Facebook users were tapped to create Vitamin Water's latest flavor and ad campaign.

Ads are beginning to get plastered everywhere.

"Ad clutter is a big problem, so advertisers are bending over backwards to find the most bizarre places to advertise," says Vranica.

Elevators, cars, garages, crosswalks and even breakfasts like Eggo waffles are getting branded.

Advertisers also are producing viral videos that seem to be captured by amateur photographers but surreptitiously advertise a product. RayBan, for example, released a video of a tattoo lover who appears to get a permanent pair of sunglasses tattooed on his face.

Advertisers Go High-Tech to Reach Audiences

Trading football for futuristic, companies are trying 3-D advertising, too. This month, Visa was the first company ever to advertise in an outdoor space using 3D.

"3D ads are the next gimmick," says Vranica. "You've got a lot of technology out there, and advertisers realize the space they play in is very crowded, so they're looking for technology to make something new. So if you make it in 3D, how could you go wrong?"

Advertisers also are stretching the limits of technology with touch screens, holograms, and "augmented reality."

"Interactive advertising is a big draw for marketers because it proves that people are engaging with your ad rather than sitting back," says Vranica.

A fitness center ad at a bus stop in the Netherlands, for example, weighs people as they sit down. Sharpie markers encourages consumers to write on a virtual "eCast" on low-hanging electronic billboards, and the Mini Cabrio car's "augmented reality" campaign allows users to hold up a Mini Cabrio convertible magazine ad to a webcam and watch as the computer screen displays a 3-D model of the car.

As for what everyone will be watching by next year's Super Bowl, commercials could be similar to the high-tech personalized ads from Steven Spielberg's 2002 movie "Minority Report." "Smart signs" from tech companies like Quividi and TruMedia are in test phase now and could scan consumers as they walk by, telling advertisers the age, height, even clothing size of potential customers.

Not every company is pinching pennies during the Super Bowl. Even at nearly $3 million for a 30 second spot, the game is sold out with commercials from big brands like Anheuser-Busch and Unilever, and lesser known companies like HoweAway.com and Boost Mobile, which both are making their Super Bowl ad debuts.

"There is no way in today's universe with such audience fragmentation that you can reach 90 million people with one ad," says Vranica. "That's why you see companies that you've never heard of advertising in the Super Bowl. So $3 million for 30 seconds is actually a bargain because they could never reach that kind of audience."

Naxal Terror threatens India

The concerns raised by various reports earlier seemed to have not made any impact on the authorities in India who still talk about going soft on the Maoist terrorists (Naxalites) in India. The “Red-Corridor” as it is (in)famously known, stretches over multiple states in India. These terrorists who call themselves the voice of the poor and oppressed have been on an overdrive in the past few months killing hundreds of civilians and security personnel. In the latest incident they hijacked a passenger train thereby holding the whole nation to ransom. The train in question is arguably the most coveted train in India, the Rajdhani Express.

The train – one of India’s fastest, swankiest passenger trains – had been hijacked by at least 300 ax- and sword-wielding Maoist rebels Tuesday morning as it sped through West Bengal on its way from the eastern state of Orissa toward the Indian capital. After a five-hour drama, during which the driver was taken hostage and passengers were forced off the train and into the jungle, the rebels surrendered. No one was hurt.

Source: csmonitor.com

While people are regularly killed and looted by these criminals, the most shocking element of the whole episode is the clout and sympathy they find in political and so-called “intellectual” groups. While the spate of violence and crime goes unabated after a lot of dilly-dally the central government recently gave a go ahead to carry out operations against the Naxalites. Even the Indian PM, Manmohan Singh has acknowledged that the naxal terror is the biggest threat to India. Though the level of commitment from the various political parties still seems varied and casts doubts on the intentions.

The recent Rajdhani express incident and the police FIR lodged against it tell a story in itself.

In what is being seen as a move to shield the Maoists, there is no mention of the Maoists or even the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) in the FIR that was lodged against the hijackers of the Rajdhani Express by the Railway authorities, in the Rajdhani hostage case.

Questions are now being raised over why Mamata Banerjee's railways ministry has not mentioned the PCPA or the Maoists' in the FIR.

This new information comes to light despite the Maoists and the PCPA claiming responsibility for the hijack of the Rajdhani.

Source: timesofindia.inditimes.com

While the political parties exchange allegations over support to naxalities, security of the hapless passengers remains at stake. Everyday millions of Indians commute on the rail network.

Although some known faces of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities, including Santosh Patra, were among the crowd, a railway official was quoted by sources saying "Who will identify them? We do not know any of them?"

 Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Though later on Thursday evening the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), in what seemed to be a “damage-control” exercise filed a FIR naming naxals as the perperators.

"When the police forces were heading towards the train on October 27 they were fired upon by the People's Committee Against Political Atrocities(PCPA) and Maoists. An FIR has been lodged against them for attacking the police and attempting to prevent them from doing their lawful duty," a senior police officer told PTI.

Source: ptinews.com

In an earlier revelation many national newspapers carried the news of the amount of fund and source of funds that these Naxalities have in their kitty. The sources peg the value of the “business” at INR 1,500- crores which is raised mainly through mafia style extortions especially from the corporates operating mines and related industries in the naxal belt.

Naxalism, which started off as a people's movement, has now become a nearly Rs 1500 crore organised extortion business in the form of 'levy', police and central security officials said.

CPI (Maoist) and especially its splinter groups, which extort the money hardly pump it back for running the movement but instead use it to maintain luxurious lifestyles for their masters, the officials said.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The report also exposed the way these militants are raising funds from the hapless industrialist in these areas. This has in many cases also led industries to shut down operations after some of the employees were abducted or killed. The area is widely under developed and poor people get lured to join the “movement” with hope of getting “social justice” and as reports indicate “wages” for being part of the gang.

If a conservative estimate is taken of the income generated from 'levy' in the seven most Naxal-infested states -- Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra -- security agencies feel the collection from these areas, which are commonly referred to as 'red corridor', amount to nearly Rs 1,500 crore.

The Naxals have even come out with a card, recovered by forces, which clearly shows the exact amount of 'levy' to be paid by contractors, petrol pump owners and land owners.

It usually ranges from 10 per cent of the project cost for those making unpaved roads to five per cent for small bridges and others.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Such militants are also encouraging production of narcotics to fund their groups. While they lead a lavish life from the funds they are forcing common people to death traps.

"The chiefs lead a luxurious life with all modern facilities. Though, they forcibly recruit children in their cadre, their own kids study in good public schools," officials said.

The Naxals also encourage local villagers to undertake opium cultivation, just like insurgents in Northeast states.

Of the total 1.07 lakh kg of ganja or marijuana seized in the country in 2007, heavy quantity of it was from Nagaland (15,489 kg), Madhya Pradesh (14,815 kg), Maharashtra (12,551 kg), Chhattisgarh (7,470 kg) and Andhra Pradesh (7,059 kg).

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The naxalities have also been targeting banks to fund their luxuries.

After the recent theft of Rs 5 crore from a bank in Jharkhand, the state police are all set to work out a strategy to prevent Naxals from targeting banks in several parts of the state.

Sources in the police said the theft in Jharkhand was a part of Communist Party of India (Maoists)’s decision to target bank money. “In November 2007, the central committee of the CPI(M) had asked its members to ensure that substantial percentage of tax was collected from banks. The top leadership of the party is of the view that levy should not come only from old sources like Gram Pradhans and contractors in the Naxal-affected areas,” a source said. Naxals who operate at the ground level have been told to target banks in Uttar Pradesh too, he added.

Source: expressindia.com

In a report published by the BBC the level of sophistication and organization of these terrorists is clearly visible. The details were revealed when BBC landed up with a copy of the "preliminary interrogation report" of Narla Ravi Sharma, a senior Naxalite leader who was arrested a fortnight ago by the security forces.

He is quoted as saying that the annual expenditure incurred by the Maoists in the Bihar-Jharkhand region is around $200,000.

The Maoist leader said that all their members were paid monthly "wages", though he refused to divulge how much.

Mr Sharma was arrested in mid-October along with his wife, Anuradha, from the forests near Hazaribagh town in Jharkhand.

His revelations about corporate funding of Maoists has prompted police and intelligence officials to suggest that the massive military effort planned against the rebels will not yield the desired results unless their "finance line" is choked.

This is not the first time Indian firms doing business in rebel-dominated areas have been accused of funding the rebels.

In the 1980s and 1990s big tea and oil companies were accused of regularly giving funds to the separatist United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland in the north-east.

Corporates generally pay up to avoid disruption or abductions - and business leaders say that the government should not punish them unless they can provide security to companies operating in Maoist-affected areas.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Other stories on the naxal terror by the same writer:

• http://my.nowpublic.com/world/naxal-terror-rips-bihar-again-16-murdered
• http://my.nowpublic.com/world/its-all-out-against-naxals-india
• http://my.nowpublic.com/world/indian-naxals-turning-taliban
• http://my.nowpublic.com/world/naxalities-attack-police-party-behead-informer

Growth vs Inclusive Growth

Gone are the days when development was measured as a function of GDP or Per Capita GDP. Human Development Index is the "in thing". Today businesses feel tempted to move to the BRIC markets as it’s where the growth is. The question that begs an answer is: has this development actually contributed to the living standards of the people in these countries?

In the 2009 ranking of nations based on HDI which ranked 182 countries; 2 BRIC markets rank in the High Human Development bracket at ranks 71st (Russian Federation) and 75th (Brazil). China is clubbed under Medium Human development at 92nd while India lags behind at a distant 134 in the same bracket. The country to top the charts in the Very High Human Development bracket is Norway while Niger is at the bottom of the charts at 182nd position in the Low Human Development bracket. 12 UN members were not ranked in the study. These rankings represent statistical values for 2007 data.

Commenting on the rankings the resident representative of UNDP Patrice Coeur-Bizot said that the Indian progress has been steady in terms of the actual rating improvement it has made from 0.556 in 2000 to 0.612 in 2007. Though the progress may be significant, it has still a lot to do in order to move up the HDI ladder with the leader Norway holding the fortress at a high 0.971 in 2007.

One reason that ensures that the country could not move up the ladder from its spot a year ago is the fact that only income is responsive to short-term policy changes. Health and education take longer to improve. In the HDI ratings the factors that are accounted for apart from GDP are life expectancy and literacy.

“We continue to pay the price for our relative neglect of education and health in the first 40 years of our development,” said Dr Santosh Mehrotra, former chief economist of the Global Human Development Report.

____________________________________________________________________

“We spend a lot on these schemes,” said Abhijit Patnaik, senior researcher at the Accountability Initiative at the Centre for Policy Research, “but the money has gone into building physical infrastructure rather than producing outcomes."

The BRIC growth story is surely true but exceptions go beyond the HDI ranks. The International Business Report (IBR) by Thornton International lists Mexico among top four destinations for investment and development opportunities. China, India and Russia hold top three spots.

Surely, the BRIC markets are growing but they need to ensure that the growth is inclusive and all the citizens get the fruits of the development.

Foreigners Within Their Country

Citizen Participation In Development

Cities have been drivers of growth since ages be it the Indus Valley or the Greek Civilization. Today also cities continue to fuel growth but are our cities infrastructure-wise sound enough to withstand the pressure on them? Cities are the centers for secondary and tertiary sector industries which ensure high per capita income but with inflow of population in cities from rural areas the pressure on cities is rising. If the city is not able to scale up the amenities to match the demand it starts to degradation of civic amenities.

The Central as well as State government bodies have initiated various programs and have been successful in their own right. Though a general assessment of civic amenities in most cities leaves a lot to be desired. Today government agencies seem to be more forthcoming in seeking public cooperation to craft sustainable cities. The initiative started by Ministry of Urban Development, GoI under the aegis of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) is one of the most recognized and ambitious plans launched till date. The plan is good initiative and banks heavily on citizen participation. It promotes Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to execute plan. It also pushes cities to grow up as sustainable systems rather than become reliant on central grants. The two main missions of the initiative are:

• Improving Urban Infrastructure and Governance
  
• Basic Services to Urban Poor

Many private sector agencies especially Non-Profit agencies are today working along with urban development agencies like municipal corporations to provide and leverage the combined skills of individuals with expertise in relevant areas like Solid Waste Management (SWM), Capacity Building, Urban Planning, Executing plans on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. One of the pioneer cities in this respect is Hyderabad which has been able to secure a major chunk of fundings and successfully executed a lot of plans.

The success of Hyderabad was not the effort of a single agency. In fact it was the combined efforts of various government and non-government agencies like Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Foundation for Futuristic Cities (FFC) among others.

The involvement of organizations like FFC is a fresh breath of air for government agencies too as such organizations not only bring a new perspective to the field but also leverage their experience from similar work done world over. Such sharing of best practices is a welcome move. Today most of the cities covered under JnNURM have involved external experts and secured funding to implement projects.

The need of the day for India today is active citizen participation. The involvement of citizens in development ensures the commitment and support needed to implement and keep the projects moving ahead. Realizing this need today almost all government agencies encourage active stakeholder participation. Whether it be citizen's forums run by municipal corporations or User's Consultative Committees run by an agency like Indian Railways all such formal or informal bodies are crafted around the basic premise of citizen's participation.

Today Hyderabad has in fact set a new example of citizen participation. FFC has come up with a pioneer plan to organize a competition seeking ideas from citizen's to develop the city of Hyderabad. The initiative has been named: Citizens For City (more details at http://www.citizensforcity.org/) being backed up by a Core Committee of prominent citizens like Padamshree Pullela Gopichand, Karuna Gopal (President FFC), Y Harishchandra Prasad (Chairman, CII-AP Chapter) as well as industry bodies and agencies like the ASCI.

The official press release which described the initiative sounded a fresh and innovative way to secure citizen participation. A section of the release described the approach:

"Entries are invited ‘To prepare implementable strategies on 30 different topics’ listed in the website of the foundation. Citizens can also add new ideas in addition to the topics mentioned in the website. Top three winners will be given CITY STRATEGIST AWARDS along with cash prizes. In addition to top 3 prizes, 10 Best teams will be presented Citation and Memento and 30 Best Teams strategy will find a place in a special publication titled ‘Sculpt your City’ which will be knowledge resource for Indian Cities."

It's time other cities and agencies involved in urban development buckle up and seek participation of citizens. With the failure of many ambitious plans in the past it has been well-proved that a silo-approach fails most of the time to attract citizens. With today's citizens being more aware of their rights and ready to participate only a more comprehensive and engaging approach can succeed.

Hopefully government agencies and citizens are listening.

Also Covered here: My NowPublic>>

Myopia

I am back and again it's not my fault. My friends and colleagues have been hounding me for a long time to go out and explore the city and this what happens when you let loose a person like me.


I had no idea about where I would go and weather too played spoilsport. The Rain gods decided to pour it out with no prior notice. Still determined to go out I set out with a primary and a secondary motive. The primary intent was guided by business motive while secondary was the "pleasure of exploring the city".

Frankly speaking the primary motive was satisfied within first 20 mins of me leaving my room to the extent I could accomplish on a rainy day.



Now it was the turn of secondary motive to be fulfilled. I realized that I was looking like a five-year old kid lost in village fair. I was looking in every direction, disoriented and sweating with anxiety as if I would find someone whom I know and he/she would take me back home safely. After sometime of wandering around I realized that I have to fend for myself and decided to go to some place I have gone earlier but have not "seen". I found myself on the road I take everyday to the train station but decided to not enter the station. Soon I was at the Perimeter Mall which is one of the biggest malls in this city. I was looking with bewilderment at the stores. Some of the stores on their own are larger than most malls in India. I decided to stay away from entering the mall but did almost go round the perimeter of the Perimeter Mall.


After walking for another mile and half I found myself at the Perimeter Village shopping area (Too many Perimeters here). This place has a Wal-Mart Supercenter and other big and small stores. My favorite place at this is the Borders book store which has a coffee shop inside it. I finally decided to sit here for sometime and think about the next move. I ordered my regular coffee (You don't mess with a man's coffee if you are sane) and settled down on a lone table. I am not sure if it was the intoxicating aroma of the coffee that this the damage or what but before I had realized I was scribbling most of what you are reading now on the back of the receipt from the coffee shop.



I started thinking what is it that people asked me to visit and watch? What should I be looking for? People? Places? Trees? Animals? What? I was bewildered thinking about it. Then I thought maybe it was the "progress" that makes this land, the place it is. Big buildings, clean roads, planned cities etc. but then I thought why India is different?

Recently I was watching a series on TV were people were conducting studies on existence of life forms on other planets by studying extreme geographies that they believed replicate the climate of those unreached frontiers in space. I thought if two things millions of miles apart can still be same then why are two nations its people and culture different at just a few thousand miles away? I also realized that isn't the progress we look at relative?

We are dazzled by the American progress and look at it as a model of growth. From currency to infrastructure we compare everything with US as base but why do we forget that India was the land from where most of the present "developments" rooted. Be it planned cities of Harappa Civilization or birth of democracy in the Mauryan era we knew how to plan things and run them. So as I said maybe we are just to dazzled with things far off that we oversee the obvious. We find it so intriguing when we read the books on Economics by Adam Smiths of the world but we forget that Chanakya wrote policies and commentaries ages before him that most economists are still trying to understand. When we hear same things from some "foreign scholar" we feel we have been enlightened but we don't even think about the learning amassed by of generations of Indian thinkers.



While writing this on the receipt at coffee shop I had lost awareness of the surroundings and somehow had shifted to a proper notepad by the time I regained consciousness. I felt the need to wipe my glass as the rainy weather and air conditioning in the store had left mark on my specs (People with specs will understand the pain). It also reminded me of my dependency on specs to see things. I realized this is pretty much what has happened to all of us. The cold beating on minds from the ages of foreign subjugation and moisture from the race to be the best has covered our specs with dew that blocks our vision. Or maybe even worse can still see things but we have started looking at things from far with so keen interest that we have lost our ability to see the obvious and that which is very close to us. Maybe we have become myopic.



This myopia affects everyone. We look at the west to enlighten us while people here travel to east in search of Nirvana. This myopia has affected me too. It took me so many years, a 6 mile hike in drizzle and a coffee to acknowledge and be able to write it.