That particular Call!!!

Yesterday (29th Jan 2009) afternoon, I got a very interesting call. It would not have been so interesting had it not been for the goof-up that the caller did. So I thought maybe its worth this blog!! The call was from ICICI bank. In the following conversation, TM is myself and BE is the Bank Executive. Brackets indicate what I thought.So here goes:

TM: Hello!

BE: Good Afternoon Sir

TM: Yes, good afternoon!

BE: Sir I am calling from ICICI bank.

TM: (Oh hell, one more crap call) Ok, what can I do for you?

BE: Sir, is this the home of Mr. Madhukar Munje?

TM: Yes certainly it is!

BE: Sir, may I talk to him?

TM: (Dude, you have screwed up big time) Well he is my grandfather and he expired four years ago.

BE: Oh I am sorry sir. This phone  number I guess is registered in his name?

TM: No it is not. It is registered in his son's name.

BE: Oh yes sir. Mr. Ananta Munje.

TM: Yes that's right.

BE: So sir am I speaking to Mr. Ananta Munje? 

TM: (Dude, I had told you that I am the GRANDSON of Mr. Madhukar Munje; not his SON!!!) No you are not. I am the son of Mr. Ananta Munje.

BE: Ok sir so when can he be contacted?

TM: (you should have kept the phone down fella!) What do you want to talk about?

BE: Sir I had some interesting loan schemes...

TM: But they were for my grandfather were they not? 

BE: No sir they were for Mr. Ananta Munje.

TM: (That's it buddy!! I am done with you.) Where did you get this number from? I don't think my father will be interested in the schemes you have. Thank you very much. Have a good day.

At this point, I disconnected the line just because my mobile phone started ringing!! I would have loved to take him to task for the next ten minutes (afterall, incoming is free guys!!!)

What can Obama Do?

A lot of hype has surrounded the new president of the USA. Being the first black to ever take up the US presidency and also taking over the baton from the not-so-famous Bush regime, Obama has a lot of reconciliation to do and a lot to prove. At the outset, he will be expected to make his stand clear on the global issue of Terrorism which has been taking gigantic leaps in the past days. With the Bush regime becoming a witness to the largest terror attack ever and also the first of this scale on a hitherto untouched country followed by the Afghanistan war and the controversial  Iraq war, Obama will have to make his stand clear right at the outset. So far, with a surge in the attacks on the Osama terror camps, things look good. But still it is too early in the game to predict the outcome. India will be looking out for a potential ally in its constant contest with the terrorists. It will be interesting to see whether the US government now sidelines itself from the proxy war that has been going on or does it declare a full-scale war on terrorism with a view to erase it from the face of the earth once and for all.

                Another issue that Obama will have to address immediately will be the global economic slowdown which has timed itself perfectly with the change of regime in the USA. It would be worth watching what corrective steps are taken by the new faces in the face of the meltdown because their efficiency will not be judged by whether they make the world recover from the meltdown but by how fast they can do so. The stock markets which have become the index of the current crisis have not yet recovered and it will take them some time to regain their past glory. It remains to be seen how far the Obama government can speed up this recovery.

                Yet another issue will be the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (the NPT and the CTBT) and also the much hyped nuclear deal. With the Lok Sabha elections now scheduled for April-May, the nuclear deal issue is bound to take centrestage in the campaigning. What stand is taken by the US government in this regard will be interesting to watch because it will decide whether they consider India as their greatest ally or their potential nemesis and Obama would be better off letting his actions speak for him.

                With the elections in India lurking around the corner, we, the people, now need to evaluate all these factors and form a clear, concise and accurate opinion on them because after five years, we will again be given a chance to form a mandate and our decision will be affecting the lives of everyone around us. The least we can do is to ensure that we exercise our right to vote. That’s all we can do and that is precisely what is expected of us.