Welcome the change. Happy new year 2017.
2016 has been one of the most happening year with unexpected happening at regular intervals but expected things were happening all along without invoking much of surprise. The most surprising this was my resignation from the MD position of Sears India and starting a new journey of becoming an entrepreneur as a partner in SRKay Consulting Group.
I am a firm believer in karma. Everything happens for a reason, and environment starts preparing for that change much before it happens. If we see the two most talked about event in the world, the election of Donald Trump as US president and sudden decision of Indian PM Narendra Modi to scrap 86% of country currency notes have their roots over several years. Frustrated white youths of US who became restless because of never changing economic challenges to them while the migrants came and did far better (which is always the case) created a reason for them to elect someone who has no political or governing experience. Someone who immediately invokes extreme emotions and someone who is outspoken to a level that global politics has not seen so far. Similarly, Indians have been living in a corrupt environment ever since the independence that was created and patronized to benefit few. A small fraction is paying taxes, but inspite of all that economy has been growing. Then was was the need to take such a big decision had been a question asked by so many economic gurus who fail to see any parallel of such a decision. The Same question is asked by so many as to why Americans elected Trump as their President. The answer is simple, ‘Change that gives hope for better.’
The year 2017 comes with this hope of change, but this hope will have to compete with deeply rooted ills and inaction, but a vast majority is looking to switch over to support the change when they see benefits for them coming in.
Few things have not changed and may never change either. Three thousand years of documented human history has been full of war and turmoil created by humans themselves. We have been in peace for just 250 years out of three thousand so far and probably living in one of the most peaceful times when the world is in the grip of religion-fueled terror. How long this peace will last is a big question, but war is no more a single tool to fight in modern times. The economy is a bigger tool that countries are now taking up to push their supremacy. While the USA continues to flex their muscle, China has entered this space much openly this year. Probably Modi will be the next warrior who will unleash the economy as the tool to fight the poverty and hunger in India and show to the rest of the world the way forward. Probably, Trump will show the Americans how to run a country like a business, something that Lee Kuan Yew did in Singapore. We hope in this new year that world will see through the evil designs of countries and agencies who thrive on war mongering and disturbing the global peace and force them to follow the path of peace. Needless to say, Pakistan comes on top of this list, but those openly supporting them also must be punished. I am sure, the people of Pakistan and war-ravaged middle east deserve a better life than what their rulers and state players have given them. I hope, this new year will bring better sense and establish the rule of law and prosperity in all these places.
Finally, when we look at us, let us be truthful to ourselves. How much we hated someone, how much we got angry when things did not happen the way we wanted and how much we wanted to own the stuff we could not afford that made our mind shift to do unethical things. Let us understand the real sense of life. We all have to die one day and leave everything behind. In all probability, very few will ever remember us if we have done something worthwhile. Let us understand that the real poison is everything that we want more than we need; the real anger is our inability to manage our emotions, the real failure is our inability to try again, the real frustration is our failure to become passionate, and the real end is when we do not want change.
Let us all bring change for the better in this new year 2017. I wish every person a happy and meaningful new year.
