Though I am not a supporter, to say it mildly, of Anna Hazare, I have to admit that he won hands down. And, I am not referring to his run in with the Indian government. He beat Steve Jobs.
No, I did not conduct an unscientific poll before coming to this conclusion. But, I did subject my colleagues to a small test.
You see, I have this habit of posting some pithy statement in my cubicle as and when. This catches the eyes of people who move past my seat, always in a hurry but at times they do sit down for a brief sermon from me. This gave the opportunity for the test.
I fixed an A4 size paper with the following message in large size letters, in bold:
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
Those of you who have had the opportunity to read the newspapers beyond Anna Hazare over the past week would have recognized that this is how Steve Jobs ended his commencement address at Stanford University in the summer of 2005. His message exhorted the fresh graduates not to be afraid of going beyond the well-travelled path, to resist being pulled into the rut.
So I asked my colleagues, after slowing them down as they crossed my seat, what it means? Every one of them, about 15 in all, said it was a dig at Anna Hazare, particularly when it appears he is raring to go for another fast, on election reforms this time. (I told my colleagues, only half in jest, that Anna Hazare is getting addicted to fasting!)
Steve Jobs was almost as big news as Anna Hazare during the past week. There have been enough articles in the newspapers and magazines that have praised his success, his daring, his ever-up antenna for risk-taking etc. Yes, his peroration at the commencement address, which he said he had borrowed form The Whole Earth Catalogue, was also mentioned a number of times. But none of my colleagues had read it.
This is how Anna Hazare beat Steve Jobs.
Hail Anna Hazare!
Raghuram Ekambaram
14 comments:
The point is well taken..very creative expression.
However
When India was celebrating the revival of the nonviolent tradition west was under the influence of Irene and Tripoli was on fire.the global media was full of that.But Indian media was only about Anna.If you had sent an email to some non Indian outside India perhaps neither Steve nor Anna would have won.
very unfortunate that India did not get the much needed positive limelight in the world stage for this epoch making event..
DS sir, I have done some serious rethinking about this "nonviolent" means. I am sure I am wrong, but please me to share my thoughts with you. Is putting a gun to one's own head and asking others to intervene and stop the violence really a nonviolent act? I have developed some doubts.
Thanks for apprecaiting the effort to go beyond dull analysis.
Raghuram Ekambaram
It shows that the 'average' man next door relates immediately to what is happening in the neighbourhood.May be it also had something to do with your skepticism about Anna movement which the office people were familiar with. :)
As always a unique approach to world events. As one of those living outside India, the reports I've had about Anna seem to point to a movement which seems to be having a much-needed effect of changing things for the better in India...Sure "addiction" may not be the right thing, but if India is shedding some bad habits (i.e. in terms of corruption) because of this movement, than is it not a good thing? That's an outsider's view; I may not be completely informed about the situation there.
Thanks Aditi, that is it ... people are aware that I have escaped Annaism/Annaitis! The experiment was rigged, I freely admit, but given a chance why should I not go one up on my colleagues? Isn't that the way of offices? ;) I just wanted to feel superior, even if only fleetingly!
Thanks a lot.
Raghuram Ekambaram
Raj, I have not much issues with what you say and I expect your qualifiers, valid in the extreme as they are.
But, in my way of thinking ends do not necessarily justify the means; if you have to go against the Indian Constitution to root out corruption (an utopian dream), it is better to start with changing the Constitution.
Thanks for the appreciation.
Raghuram Ekambaram
Oops raj, I "accept" your qualifiers!
Raghuram Ekambaram
Arundhati Roy commented that the Indian media had decided that nothing other than Anna was news-worthy during the days of his fast. True, the Indian TV channels, especially the English news channels, did nothing else but focus all their cameras on Anna. I think that added as much pressure on the govt as the thousands of people that crowded in the maidan. That way, the eclipse of Steve Jobs was good!?
That is indeed a different take Matheikal, and good too! yet, in the context of my pinning a Jobsian statement and that being recognized as a dig at Anna ... I am not so sure.
Raghuram Ekambaram
About 4 decades ago, Walter Cronkite, the great newscaster of those days , had a long program on TV to find out what interests people. He w ent all over the
world to find out that what interests people is mostly what happens in their own place or at best next door
This I was not aware of, pala ... thanks for bringing it to my notice ... Cronkite may have been talking about ordinary types of news but both Anna and Steve were extraordinary news ... And, I couldn't understand how my colleagues could not see beyond their noes ... that surprised me.
Raghuram Ekambaram
that was the time of vietnam and Bangladesh war, both big news. He interviewed many in India. Very few were interested in Viet Nam.Except Satyajit Ray's heroes !!
Maybe many of his employees in India were also more concerned about Anna rather than Steve Job retiring.
To quote a Deewar Dialouge, where Amitabh ask Shashi Kapoor `Mere Paas Bank Balance, Gaadi aur Bangla hain, tumhare paas kya hain"
Shashi Kappor replies `Mere Paas Maa hain'
Anna Hazare for a similar question would have replied `Mere Paas Arnab Goswami hain' :P
Take it as a PJ or reflection of reality, it is left to you, the issue is noise and not sense makes news
True Balu, about noise and sense ... but how do we know which is what?
Raghuram Ekambaram
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