Interesting Times

A friend working in the financial sector in Hong Kong laughed and said that we "Live in interesting times." I guess that is one way of looking at it, the world is imploding, a lot of the luxury revolution that we saw in India over the past three years was on the back of illegally imported planes and yachts. Food prices are going up and if Chiddu thinks that India will be isolated from global pain, he has something else coming, though knowing current trends he may not be Finance Minister to pick up the pieces of the mess next year.
However, the fallout on the media has still been fairly limited. So far. Demand does not seem to have softened, but there is this awkward feeling that marketers have that something will give very soon and the impact will not be nice. Of course, we all still believe in the India story - it is a remarkable story where despite any government not providing any basic facilities such as decent roads, education, power, water or health care - the country still manages to grow. Mainly because the private sector has taken over that role. But I've just got this feeling that even the private sector is at breaking point - why should service companies also be large taxi fleet operators and generate their own electricity. And really, why should the rich - the $100,000 earning male that a certain new magazine is targeting (though this is the male who has probably been hit hardest by recent events) be making money by scamming the government?
Strange, a country that keeps growing at eight per cent, which has impacted such a small sliver of the population, it is really ironic. The rest of the country is almost tribal in their reaction to provocation - the dichotomy of modern India sometimes amazes me. This country needs a leader - not one who goes and tells the world's resident clown that all Indians love him - but a good leader. Instead, we get clowns, from every party - and that is a rather sad fact.
Anyway, the Puja's have started so to all you Bong's out there - have a great time! Subho Saptami! And really, putting bot comments here piss me off - I stand by my assertion that GQ India's first issue sucked big time. It was not of the standards that I expected GQ to be, and it looked and felt like a high-end fashion magazine. Karan Johar's interview of Aditya Mittal was weak, there are a few good stories, but the magazine dis not have any decent content beyond the photographs. Nothing that can't be repaired, but friends who read the Indian edition of Vogue tell me that even that magazine has dropped off to become just another magazine in the big crowd. But GQ India has started off that way - at least Maxim India has a killer cover shoot every time.