Wish you all a very happy Ganesha Chaturthi

Today is the day we celebrate the Destroyer of obstacles. He is extremely intelligent, learned and has a sense of humor. He is powerful and makes things happen! He has his stories, hobbies, preferences. He is popular.

Not so long ago, He became a reason for people to come together, step out of their homes, mingle, so that they develop a camaraderie necessary to fight against the foreign rule during the Indian freedom struggle.

So, today, let us all do good. And celebrate. Happy Ganesha Chaturthi.

Dialogue of the day: On capability versus skill-sets of a person

Tony Kueh: That's like telling Elon Musk that he can't build cars, solar panels, and send people to the moon because he's more of a "financial payments" guy. This is ignorance.

Bombing ISIS forces to prevent genocide is a welcome step by the U.S.

I am happy that the U.S. has decided to bomb ISIS advancement forces in order to prevent the genocide of people belonging to various other religions. Let us be very clear on one thing -- there should NOT be any genocide in this world. Our societies should never allow such a dastardly act. So, the act of U.S. is a welcome step.

Ideally, this should have been executed by the United Nations forces. But we all know that the governance at the global level is broken. So, it is heart-warming that the U.S. has taken the initiative to come forward to ensure a genocide or the highest order of the violation of human rights is prevented.

I hope that India grows in strength so that Indian security forces too can join in future in such initiatives to prevent genocides across the world.

Mangalagiri should not be the location for new capital of Andhra Pradesh State

Mangalagiri is a valuable forest. Plan for the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh right there pains the environmentalist in me. There are many alternate vast lands instead of Mangalagiri -- with no forest cover, with no irrigated fields. Destroying a forest to build a new city, when so many alternate cheap lands are available, is a crime against humanity.

The best location for the new Andhra Pradesh state capital is near the border of Andhra & Rayalaeema. The new city can be shared even if any future bifurcation takes place.

Two friends -- Two recent book releases

Two of my good friends have recently released their books. Do check them out!

1) James Carmichael released the first of the five part sci-fantasy book Erra's Throne. I went to Chicago Booth with him and he is a very talented writer.

Link to the book: www.amazon.com/Erras-Throne-Column-Tablet-Book-ebook/dp/B00LCSRS6I

2) Vishwas Mudagal released his debut novel Losing my Religion that is based in an Indian setting. I explored an entrepreneurial venture with Vishwas in 2004 and have known him since then.

Link to the book: www.amazon.in/Losing-My-Religion-Vishwas-Mudagal/dp/8172344937

Sad news -- Lok Satta leader Vijayender Reddy dies in road accident

It is really shocking to know that Vijayender Reddy, who has devoted more than 18 years of the most productive phase of his life for public service, is no more. He died in a car accident. He is 48 and was emerging as a key Telangana state leader.

Though I personally worked with Vijayender Reddy on very few activities, I had a strong rapport with him. He liked me a lot for various reasons and considered himself my guide. He used to feel very happy whenever I was around and that was very much visible often.

He was one of the first members of the Lok Satta movement and he held on to his beliefs against incredible challenges. He was the "Telangana Mass Maharaja" of Lok Satta. He used to inspire hundreds of people among low-income groups to come to various public events. Over the years, his enthusiasm had tempered down a bit due to public apathy towards involving themselves in good governance. However, for the last few months, he was extremely happy with the creation of Telangana state and he was busy making plans to reach out to Telanganites in rural places on a massive scale.

Our relationship strengthened when he called me one day to give unsolicited advice. There were certain organizational challenges that I was facing/handling and with a genuine concern for me, he made the phone call. His wise advice was very helpful to me at that time.

Thereafter, he continued to treat me like his trusted friend. Very recently, he had called me one month ago for certain reasons and I was supposed to get back to him. Before I could, he has passed away.

His life is an example of the troubles many honest people face when they enter public life to do good to the society. He did not devote time to improve the quality of his life but used most of his time and energy for the people. Yet, public were indifferent to his efforts. His efforts will not go in waste because it has strengthened immensely a movement to bring in better governance.

He leaves behind his wife, a son and a daughter. He came from a very modest financial background, leaves behind very modest financial sources for his family, but does manage to create a powerful story of public service. A story of 18 years of sweat and sacrifice.

I congratulate the people of Telangana for the new State of Telangana

Today, the new State of Telangana becomes a reality. The credit for this mainly goes to the people of Telangana who supported the movement for the creation of the new state.

The state of Telangana has three advantages now:
1) In this age of urbanization and globalization, Hyderabad is the biggest asset of Telangana and her people should ensure that Hyderabad city reaches greater heights

2) Telangana is a budget-surplus state and this should be used for creation of growth infrastructure across the state, so that the revenues generated can only become bigger in coming years

3) The flourish of regional identity, culture, language, history and arts to propel the new state towards a wholesome society that is happy with its destiny.

Telangana should become a bright jewel in the crown of Indian federal structure.