London Diaries - Que Sera Sera

After all the London love that has poured out in the last week, let me just say that as I sit waiting to board my flight, an equal amount of anger and frustration are my emotions towards Heathrow. This miserable travel and transit conduit does not deserve to be called an airport, forget being called a global aviation hub.

Heathrow is the symbol of long queues, tardy hands moving through machines and baggage and the stiff upper lipped staff are convinced that their employment is a favour to the world moving in and out of Heathrow. To start with, the boarding pass scanner was not working and the lady spent more time on her radio than clearing passengers manually. Then only 50% of the security scanners were being used despite the weekend rush; and finally the staff operating the machines and checking the luggage were playing musical chairs leading to a human traffic jam ready to compete in the Guinness Book of World Records. It took 30min for my bags to reach me and by the time they did my brain had frozen watching the appalling functioning. I left the security check without my bags and realised when I found my hands too empty for a journey!

My possessions reunited with me, I called Bonsai. It had been a wonderful day to end this trip. The sun shone, the birds flew and there was a warm cheer all around. At Cutty Sark I sat and sipped coffee at the Gypsy Moth, a brunch pub I favoured, especially in the winters for its bright and cosy fire place. From there I made my way to the Greenwich market and scanned through multiple photographs of the city that made me smile, laugh, cringe and sigh. Picking up favourites I made my way back to the Wharf, ready to pack my bags and leave home, calling it so for the one last time. Enroute I could not resist and picked up my classic Cheddar and Ploughman Pickle sandwich, so quintessentially British and still a big comfort food. 

Having bid adieu to everyone, I was all by myself with my balcony on Thames. Thirteen years ago I had come alone and set up a house, today I was to wrap one up and hand over the keys to the landlord. It felt a circle in life had been completed. Standing on the balcony, soaking in the view and the start of a new chapter, I captured some last memories and made my way to the waiting cab.

The city, through the years has given me a lot. This trip  too I got all that I wanted from it once again, except for the one photograph of Tower Bridge that I could frame. I was lost in this thought when the driver turned left and I realised we were going over Tower Bridge and that too in slow moving traffic! My opportunity had come and I seized it in a blink. Two beautiful shots of my confidant of so many years and I felt satiated. Goodbye for a short while became easier.

The moon, in the bright sun lit September late afternoon skies seemed misplaced. I stared at it as we waited endlessly to exit the Motorway towards Heathrow. Maybe my leaving seemed incorrect to London. Maybe it is. Maybe I will return. Who knows? As they say, whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see. Que sera sera...

London Diaries - Bonsai and me

Walking on New Bond Street, Bonsai suddenly asked me if she had come to London on 6th or 9th of September. It was the 6th, and how distinctly I remember that day 10 years ago! Suddenly a kaleidoscope of memories lit up.

The long August weekend that year was to be spent attending a friend's wedding ceremony near Bath. Stay arrangements were in Bristol and car rental was in place. The morning of the departure, standing at the rental, I was cursing Seeker for forgetting his passport. We got lucky, the rental salesman took pity on us and made provisions to let us rent only with a driving licence in place. Not just that, we got upgraded to a brand new E Class. Both of us were super kicked!

The first stop was to buy a road map of the UK, I was not going to navigate without one. As I sat in the car with my brand new navigation tool kit, Bonsai called. Oxford had awarded her the first ever Rajeev Gandhi bursary! Suddenly expenses had reduced; but wait she had not applied for one, had she! How did she get so lucky? The brand new E Class upgrade became the icing on a very delicious cake.

It was a fabulous wedding; notwithstanding that Seeker and I forgot about the GPS of our E Class, went through the same round about four times each time taking a different exit and ultimately entered the church as the bride and the groom were exiting! We got acquainted with Bristol and discovered Las Iguanas, the South American food paradise there which we frequent in London even today. The next day took us to Bath, a city intertwined with history, literature and scenic beauty. If I had my way I would not have left that town centre but then I realised that we had to do a pit stop at Oxford before returning to London.

Bonsai was going to make Oxford home for a year and I was super excited to check it out. Oxford had me spellbound at the word go. The delicately embroidered architecture of the institutions hummed anecdotes of personalities that altered world history. The tree lined streets oozed a calm yet strong character. Fontainebleau had been special but Oxford was exquisite.

The coming year brought many happy occasions at Oxford, for Bonsai and me alike. The chance meeting of a childhood friend who mentioned her dorm friend in a passing conversation to Bonsai and later realised that it was Bonsai's very own sister. The summer parties and college dinners that Bonsai and I enjoyed together and finally the weekends that the sisters spent reacquainting one another with their dreams, hopes and ambitions.

At the end of the year Bonsai moved to London to start her journey as a lawyer, a flatmate to this banker and finally the custodian of my balcony on Thames! As today draws to a close, my heart wishes that just for once we could revisit those days that Bonsai and I spent together many years ago and have a laugh, shake a leg and enjoy the city that has become home to us both. 

London Diaries - Not a Bed of Roses

You know a city is home when you have a secret place to go to in the hour of contemplation or jubilation. I have not one, but three of those in London. So probably London is triple home to me or maybe it just has the ability to put up with three of me; which if true would automatically qualify it for the title of City Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Whichever way one may look at it, that London will always be home, is an undeniable truth.

 

With all the praises showered on London,  I am not blind to the darker sides of the city. In my initial week at RedHill I ventured out to London to spend an evening with a friend. Our drinks and dinner banter went out of hand leading to me missing the last connection from Victoria to RedHill. I had just started to fall in love and the city drawing out my affection had no flaws. So off I went to East Croydon to try my luck there and rocked up to an elderly station master asking if he could guide me on my way to RedHill. If I know what Shakespeare meant by "hell hath fury" it is because of that night. Appalled that a young woman, all by herself, was roaming around East Croydon past 10:00pm the grandfatherly gentleman lost all control and calm. I was given an earful such that even my father never has. His sternness and anger made me want to melt away in the dark. Young ladies like me made his job difficult as we were his responsibility and he had to ensure we got home safe from a dungeon like East Croydon. Eventually he got the Gatwick express to do two unscheduled stops and transport me home safe. Needless to say I never ventured near East Croydon again but have blessed that station master ever since.

 

A few years later, and probably a bit wiser I decided to meet some friends at Angel & Islington for a night of dancing. Friday nights and binge drinking are synonymous in London. So I took all care of being with friends or in places with people till I met my friends. But I had not anticipated that the tube station would become the stage for an eventful memory. As I was walking to the escalator, two intoxicated hipsters started following me. One soon stood ahead of me on the next step reeking of alcohol. The one behind tried to grab my sling and pull me down. I resisted and shouted. It is a long escalator and there was no one coming up my way. But a kind soul who was on his way down ran up and seeing help on its way the two intended muggers ran. My heart beat exceeded that of the tube speed that day and never todate have I recounted this experience to anyone. I love my freedom!!

 

Precaution is good and I advocate it. But sometimes I do throw caution to the wind because too much of it can just cramp my style, and I would like to believe that most people in the world are good until proven otherwise. On a dark, cold and damp winter evening I was making my way from Bond Street to the hotel of a client who had just landed from India and we needed to prepare for the investor meetings the following day. I could have easily taken a black cab but I love walking around in London and as I had time on hand, I decided to get some exercise. I don't know how it happened, probably it was because of the distractions Deff Leopard was sounding in my ears, but I lost my way. I looked around and saw a bouncer at the door of a club and decided to take his advice on the route. Google maps were probably not even being tested then. Having taken my directions and orienting myself correctly, I put Guns and Roses to give me company. And that's when I had an inkling that something was amiss. A couple of hundred steps further I was sure I was being followed. A keen viewer of crime, detective and action thrillers I stopped in my tracks and noticed that the energy that was disturbing me had stopped too. I turned my back to the wall pretending to untie my earphones cord and from the corner of my eye I saw that homeless person sitting outside the club was now just about 50 steps away to my left. My heart was in my mouth but then came the golden words of a cop to me, "when in trouble, hail a black cab". So I turned to the main road and wished hard for a black cab to show up. No sooner had I hit a wider street one emerged from the darkness. I flagged it and got in. The driver saw my face and knew what was probably the reason for my ashen look. That day I got another earful for using back lanes in the dark.

 

Whenever I have faced adversity or tricky situations, the city has sent forward helping hands. All the earfuls and anger that may have been spewed has only made me become a more careful individual and endeared this city to me. There is no other like London.

 

Walking towards my safe harbour today, I suddenly feel the warmth of the sun rays hit me. How the sun changes this city! It has come out from its hiding probably to reinstate that the city knows me, sometimes better than even I know myself. Even if it's too strong for my liking I am glad that the sun is out today, another indication of a new beginning, a new era and a brighter future ahead.

London Diaries - Why Just Be?

As I look out of the window, the Shard obscuring my view of the London eye, the sky turns from a pale pink to lilac to pale navy blue, and the red dots of the city skyscrapers come on. The river below is calm and yet the tide is high. Unlike the usual September weather, there is no wind, no chill, but a soft warm enveloping cocoon under the clouds that are swarming in. From one balcony I am witnessing the evolved sky line of an iconic global city and the changing weather patterns of the world. This is why London is unique to me - it constantly makes me learn and grow, but just like the tide keeps me true to myself.

When I moved back to Fontainebleau after my Indian summer in London, my friends at business school were convinced that I had a boyfriend hidden somewhere on the cobblestone paths of London. It seemed unimaginable that simply a few weeks in a city could bring about a transformation in someone, or so they thought. But there was one friend who saw me in my boots and said, "T you are on your way to realising your dreams. I love the you that has emerged." I love the me that skips out every time I am in London!

Thinking about it, as I lie on the couch, now looking at the black sky lit with red and gold lights of the Shard and Tower Bridge; it's because London lays down no expectations. I was free to be then and I am free to be me today. London absorbs everyone and everything that comes its way. That lends comfort and increases familiarity; leading to a feeling of belonging which is rare to find in a gigantic global city.

At one of my first parties in London, in the very posh Sloane Square, I was trying to make conversations and improve my understanding of the British culture. Standing with an English gentleman belonging to the elite of the city, I asked what was the national dish of Britain. "Why, it's Chicken Tikka Masala obviously"; the answer to my innocent question left me amused and confused. I was the Indian and that should have been my reply! But no, I had not yet realised what a sponge this city is.

I say British culture and then I say London, no I am not missing anything here. Britain is London and then the rest of it. Birmingham is very Asian. Sheffield is the very normal English industrial city. Bath is historic and aristocratic even maybe. Oxford is the snob, not because it is better than its fellow cities but because it is a better version of what it was yesterday. London is a mix of them all and then the commonwealth, New York, Paris, Eastern Europe and the list is endless.

My love for the halloumi grew here as I craved it for breakfast when I had no patience to cook anything that would need a fuss. My understanding of the Italian cuisine took foundation in the many delis and restaurants that I visited where the Italian chefs gave me recipes and tricks of cooking. From South American to Ethiopian to Malay to Thai to Korean and Japanese, the cuisines albeit in their vegetarian avatar started tickling my taste buds here. My appreciation for the tea, and yes I am Indian, developed here when I came across varieties from white tea from China in the London markets to the rose infused first flush blends created specially at Fortnum & Mason.

Having lived in various parts of the world, before moving to London, I was familiar with foods of the world. But London made them accessible in all shapes and forms, from the hawker variety to the authentic to the one especially curated for the British pallet. With a few exceptions, outside of London, in Britain, I was always sure to find an Indian restaurant but that is where the food adventure often ended.

Melody and music came to me in varied forms here. Dressed in my best I sat with a friend in the box seats of the Royal Albert Hall listening to Tchaikovsky, a composer I had never heard before and today I listen to more and more. In my cargo pants I stood head banging just below the stage as Bono sang With or Without You. That he did not call me up on the stage left me a tad sad 12 years ago, but my cargo pants were no match for the leather pants of the girl that made it next to the legend himself. How can I forget the open air concert of African percussionists outside the TFL offices. Under the moonlit skies I sat mesmerised. London fuelled my passion for music and there has been no looking back.

London pushed me to explore me, delve into the depths of breadths of every experience that touched me. It never let me and still does not let me become complacent. It continues to bring out the best in me and maybe that is why the boyfriend mystery still haunts my friends...

In the morning light the Shard still hides the London Eye but it now it dawns on me; London is special because everyone can coexist here. There is a place for everyone under the London sun. 

London Diaries - My Love Affair with London

As I stood on my balcony on the Thames, the morning ferries were busy getting the commuters to their destinations. A few years ago I would have been one amongst them; today I was watching them and wondering when did my love affair with this incredible city actually begin...

I meandered my way through the maze of pin stripe suits, tattoos, designer bags and heels; my earphones belting out Dire Straits. It was the lunch rush and once upon a time I would have been rushing to get my teriyaki; today I was smiling with a Pain au Chocolat in my hand.

As I got out at London Bridge and made my way to Hay's Galleria, the only thought in my head was, when did I fall in love with London. A walk along the river towards Southwark yielded no answers but brought back memories that made me smile wider and wider. I saw places that once were on my wish list but today were par for course. Oh how incredibly has this city changed my life!

Passing Shakespeare's Globe I remembered how 10 years ago I stood in the rain to watch the Merchant of Venice but just a few months ago had been sitting in some of the best seats watching Taming of the Shrew. At Tate Modern as the busker played It Must Have Been Love I began to sing along and that is when it hit me. London was not love at first sight! No it was not!

As a teenager I visited this city for the first time. The Tower Bridge, Les Miserables and the London Dungeon intimidated me. The architectural brilliance overawed me. The sheer expanse and expense scared me. I was unable to appreciate the various shades of London's spectrum; and I ran away vowing never to return.

Returning to Europe in 2003 I was determined to move to Frankfurt. I spoke fluent German and was certified by the Goethe Institute and no less. That should have been enough. Yet it was not to be; my German was not good business German and opportunities in Frankfurt were few and far in between for inexperienced wannabes like me.

It was not even then that I turned to London. I tried my luck in Rotterdam and Luxembourg. Finance was what I wanted to do and the cities had some opportunities for English speakers. So I travelled, spent a night in a friend's attic as I prepared for an interview; but never contemplated giving London a chance.

Somewhere I feel London was watching me and smiling at my stupidity and reluctance. The internship opportunity came out of the blue and I walked into London's open arms in the summer of 2003. A few months later I started working for a German bank based out of London. I had been gifted it all - the desire to start in the world of finance with a German firm and in a city that show cased the world to me. The rest as they say is history.

As I sit across the river bank overlooking Vintner's Place, watching tourists and families walk by as I write; I know why this trip is special. It's my city asking me to open up again, not to make the mistakes I made with my initial perceptions of London; to give opportunities another chance.

I came to London as a nobody and took risks that were unusual but see where it got me! It's probably time to take another leap of faith and give another opportunity a chance. It may yield nothing or it may empty life's treasure trove at my feet. I will never know till I take the plunge, would I! I should not expect a second chance everytime; after all there is only one London in the world.

London Diaries - Midair Travel Musings

Travel enthralls me. Undertaking a journey excites me. Flying balances these emotions and brings in  perspective.

New places bring unique experiences. The rational mind learns and the spirit is enriched. Up in the air, away from the worldly responsibilities, routine and distractions; the past, present and the future connect.

Today's journey is special. It has brought about mixed feelings. Sitting miles and miles above the ground I can see the path I have travelled and that the future is only better than the best that has happened.

I moved to London 13 years ago for a summer internship when it became home. A novice to this giant global melting pot, I brilliantly, at least with my then experience and skill set, negotiated a short rental for a musician's Chelsea apartment. I travelled an hour and a half to work one way but all that trouble was worth the opportunity to absorb what London truly meant. That summer I graduated from wearing sandals to boots.

6 months later I returned; my bags with my dreams in tow, but pockets that were screaming for refuelling. As I scurried around for that opening that would make me proclaim, "I am not a nice gal, I am a banker" I had no money for recreation; I spent a night camping at the heath, star gazing and watching Canary Wharf shine in splendour. One chill evening, worn out, forlorn and feeling beat, I let my tears drop into the Thames only to catch the brilliance of the illuminated Westminster smile back at me from the floating waters of the river. Soon the winter receded, my qualms thawed and my wings were airborne! My boots now had a suit to go with.

A few apartments and flat mates later I moved into my own abode. I hung pictures and portraits, bought crockery and cutlery, curtains and cushions adorned the living room; and I had a small, but a walk in closet. Yet I could not enjoy my space as I would have liked to. Work was 24/7 as I moved from strength to strength. My suit came with responsibilities that were brute.

Then came a vision that is fit for all dreams. A balcony over the Thames from where the Tower Bridge, the London Eye, the entire London skyline was visible. Just in over half a decade this city had brought me a standing, a reckoning. I was finally well groomed.

After multiple struggles someone came knocking with an offer of potentially creating change. A change that would use my acquired skills to build new opportunities back home in India. I was elated and yet deflated. To grow my career I had to move. I took the call and moved. My only solace being that the balcony on the Thames would remain every time I came to visit. I would probably be able to enjoy my city, my space and my grace more freely...

So another just over half a decade has passed. My trysts with London have been regular. This pod recharges my pea every visit. Every sojourn brings more clarity on life, on me. But as I land this evening into a warm and welcoming London, it is to bid goodbye to my balcony on the Thames. It's the end of an era in a lot of ways. 

Sitting next to the pilot driving my cab (yes the driver is a licenced commercial pilot), I am photographing every part of the city where some part of me grew up, changed and made me a better person. I am nostalgic, a tad sad maybe; but as we drive past my first shopping den of Tesco at Earls Court to the then unaffordable Harrods I feel grateful. From Victoria, where I used to take the main line train to RedHill, to Upper Thames Street where I became a banker, I smile a smile of contentment. On the road from my first tourist spot of Tower Bridge to my most cherished balcony on Thames it suddenly dawns on me that another era has just begun...

London enthralls me. London excites me. London gives me perspective. Above all London completes me. 

India - Skill Development and GDP

India’s Demographics: the Potential Dividend and the Current Drain

According to the 2011 census, the median Indian age was 25.1 years with 65% of the population under the age of 35. This demographic advantage of India affords the nation an opportunity to overtake the global stage with a vengeance, and claim the position of the Golden Bird that we once used to be.  However, the impediment to the achievement of this game-changing aim is simply one, only 2% of the 500 million strong workforce of the country are skilled. This creates acute shortage for sectors that represent almost 75% of the country’s GDP  – services (57%) and manufacturing (16%). Thus with no option left, 53% of the country’s workforce is employed in Agriculture that contributes 19% to the GVA and only 24% of the workforce is employed in services.  The need to skill up to grow more productively and equally has never been more critical.

Education. Where do we do more?

A lot of effort has been put into primary education leading to a net enrolment of 98% in primary schools. But the number of children who are math and reading capable remains extremely low. Only 39% of class 3 children are able to subtract and 47% can read a Class I text. 

Those who manage to stay through schools, with little ability to comprehend the higher levels of education, drop out soon after high school. In fact only 12% of the students graduating from high school make it to colleges. The reducing ratio of institutions of higher learning to those of primary education in the country adds to the competition and thus not all willing get to tool themselves up for the work life. In 2011 there were 447,600 middle schools in the country, 131,215 high schools and 72,046  pre degree / higher secondary schools / junior colleges. For anyone wanting to pursue engineering or architecture there were only 2,894 options and for those attempting to become doctors or nurses only 2,153 institutes existed. No wonder, the unorganised sector remains the one bread earning option for 90% of the youth. The investment into education has and at this rate will continue to reap low or no benefits for the nation at large.

While new institutes of higher learning are being set up in the country, even by the private sector, there needs to be emphasis on providing trained teachers, appropriate infrastructure and adequate awareness to ensure education enables the disciples. In fact a starting point of skill development should be to train teachers in delivery and ensure that students are able to understand and learn in class.

India’s education spend is only 1% of the GDP. As this spend increases in areas such as teacher training, the multiplier effect could be significant, helping the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) achieve its aim of training 30% of the 500 million workforce by 2022.

Skill Development: A Fresh Approach for a New Dream?

To ensure that the young Indians are tooled up to becoming corporate India ready, the need of the hour is to bring education and skill development under the same regulatory umbrella and do away with the current structure that has education as the KRA of HRD Ministry and Skill Development that of Labor and Employment ministry and NSDC.  As we grow we will need more manpower, and by 2020 60% of Indian population is expected to form the workforce. It is only if we ensure that basic education is provided to all and then each youngster is given an opportunity to discover and grow in her field of choice that we will have an educated, excited and equipped work force that will generate profit per person befitting a country wanting to grow 10% per annum.   

According to a recent report on India Skills by WheeBox, an assessment test administered to 300,000 candidates indicated that only 37% were corporate employment ready. Confounding! The services sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 5% over the next two years with e-commerce alone looking to create at least 150,000 jobs in the next 2 years. The government aims to boost manufacturing so that it can contribute 25% to the country’s GDP by 2025. With these targets and the current skill development scenario, the hunt for talent in the country seems to be a long drawn battle.

A lesson that India can learn from Germany, and together India Inc and the government could implement, is close working partnership of industry and universities. The German Mittlestand (mid cap) companies are entrenched in their local Eco systems from providing training to the young, internships and apprenticeships to local university students and finally providing employment to the skilled they have developed. As a result not only is the German unemployment rate (at 7.8%) lowest in Europe at but also the employee turnover is only 2.7%. If Indian mid-cap could start training college going youth and then employing them, we could see a shift from higher participation in agriculture to manufacturing and services, giving GDP a major boost. Given the 2% mandatory spend on CSR, this will be a self fulfilling prophecy for India Inc while helping the nation to grow more sustainably. It could also reduce the rural to urban migration, aiding development and reducing pressure on the stressed urban infrastructure.

Women and GDP: It's Empowerment by Educating and Employing!

An interesting observation of the 2011 census is the female workforce participation in the country at 26%! While in urban India the female to male worker ratio is 226, in rural India the figure is staggeringly higher at 384. Most of the women are employed in the informal / unorganised sector or are a part of the unpaid workforce! In fact in the most industrialised States of (erstwhile) Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the highest female workforce participation in urban areas is 20% in Tamil Nadu which is much lower than the national average. The women worker participation is not only low but at the moment non profitable for the country.

What these numbers don't tell but UNICEF research has shown is that an educated mother is twice as likely to send her children to school. Not only does this lead to literacy and probably higher skill development but considering that every extra year of education enables women to earn 20% more as adults, educating women becomes a no brainer! According to Making it Right report, for 1% of new girls enrolled in schools, India’s GDP could grow by USD 5.5 billion.

Conclusion

Talent recruitment and retention is a challenge that all of corporate India is facing currently. If we take our destiny in our own hands and focus on improvements in education, providing vocational training on site and encouraging women, we could have an ocean of skilled workforce to take us to growth levels unprecedented. We can use our CSR spends, our professional networks and our association with the government to ease this journey for all of us and the nation. A partnership that would see more people more gainfully employed and higher growth rate for the country would also lend stability to the nation which today is trying very hard to maintain composure and tell the world that it too is a main character of the unfolding global story.

As industry participants it is our responsibility to help the cause of skill development in the country or very soon talent acquisition would become a talent scavenger hunt.