GROWING WITH SCOOBY

My wonder years were made extra special by cartoons, as with most kids. Flinstones, Jetsons, The Addams Family, Popeye The Sailor and others filled my hours with magic. None, however, compared with the inimitable Great Dane, Scooby-Doo.
For the half hour every day that Scooby was on air, I promptly left the job on hand and made a dash for the remote. I always had to fight to get control of it, what with my entire family pouncing on it at the same time. I would simply raise the give-me-the-remote-or-I'll-tear-the-place-down shrill and voila,'Scooby-Doobey-Doo, Where Are You?' would waft through. My family would leave the room, cursing its fate but finding consolation in the silence that enveloped the house while I was away on some super Scooby adventure. There are so many little things in the show that one comes to love. For one, the Scooby Snack always gave Popeye's spinach a run for its money. I also came to correlate Velmas spectacles with intelligence and longed to have a similar pair for myself.
Scooby taught me some valuable lessons while growing up. He remained the eternal chicken, even though every episode ended with the ghost myth being busted. Before Scooby entered my life, I suffered from cynophobia, a persistent fear of dogs. I would be exaggerating if I claim to be cured of it now, but I am far better off. If dogs themselves get scarred, they're not so scary, are they? Calvin and Hobbes, Asterix and Obelix, Scooby and Shaggy make for some of the best tales of friendship.
With Scooby, I found mine. I could never make my parents watch the zany dog for more than a minute. I was more successful with my sister, who would join Scooby and the gang occasionally. Whether she did it to humour me or because she liked it herself, I can't say. It was 'bonding time' for us, and in this we agree.
Harry Potter came, Pokemon and Bablade are here, but none can create the magic Scooby did so seemingly effortlessly. But there is hope. I caught my two-year-old cousin watching Scooby the other day, thoroughly enjoying himself. The magic will continue after all.

HEALTH: UNHEALTHY TEENS

There is an old adage repeated in many Indian homes, especially by the older generation: health is wealth. Well, the Indian middle class has got the wealth but is fast losing its health. The middle-class in India has never had it so good. Affluence and globalization has made a given them a wider range of cuisine, not necessarily the healthiest. Yet, as is often said, there is no such thing as a free lunch, or it could be a case of too many lunches.

Paradoxically, a nation with 20 percent of the poor of the world is facing an obesity crisis. The middle class is increasingly sporting a middle spread that poses a serious health risk for millions. Obesity, till recently, was seen as a disease of developed countries. Yet, 35 percent or approximately 120 million urban Indians are seriously obese, as are one in 10 urban Indian children. Delhi is India’s obesity capital with alarming 45 percent males and 55 percent women suffering from high levels of obesity.

Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern. Being seriously overweight puts you at greater risk of developing high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, some cancers and other health risks. Ultimately, obesity can be life-threatening. In the US, more than three lakh deaths are linked to obesity annually. According to the World Health Organization, the obesity epidemic is increasing faster in developing countries than in the developed world.

The prime cause revolves around changes in lifestyles as a result of affluence and a sedentary lifestyle. Basically, we are eating too much high calorie food and not burning enough of it with exercise. It always amazes me to see how a country, used to eating fresh home cooked meals, has taken to pizza parlors and McDonald’s each year. These have aggravated the obesity problem. Longer work hours mean longer hours behind a desk. At home, it’s sitting at a computer or the TV. As lives become busier, there is less time to cook healthy meals; instead, more people are opting for high calorie, pre-cooked meals popped into the microwave.

In Indian health care circles, the battle against the bulge has begun. Last year, the first Asia Pacific Obesity Conclave took place in Delhi and health experts are gearing up to tackle obesity on a war footing. The antidote is simple: eat healthier, exercise more and change lifestyle patterns.

I think that the challenge lies in creating awareness. We all know that fat is ugly, but many people are unaware that it is dangerous as well.

Affluence may have given middle class India many gifts but they are in danger of losing the greatest gift of all: good health.

THE RAPE NIGHTMARE

I have always believed that the status of children and women is a very accurate indicator of how civilized a country is. If the children are healthy and educated, you know the country is progressive. In a place where women are not treated with equality, you know that country is bedeviled by problems.

In the past decade, one of the key features of India’s liberalizations has been the influx of women into a variety of professions and their contribution to a growing economy. However, as we read about the horrific attacks on young women in India’s two biggest cities, this seems a veneer. A teenager was raped in Mumbai by a taxi driver. Then Delhi was shaken when a young call-centre worker was picked up off the street and raped. The capital has a reputation of being dangerous but the incident in Mumbai, which often boasted of being safe for women, points to a darker trend. That women, now facing more dangers during the course of a work day, have a reason to feel unsafe in urban India. According to the latest figures, the rate of crime against women in 35 big cities is higher than the national average.

What is as disturbing as these statistics is a medieval mindset which continues to dominate our society. There is little empathy for the victims of violence, little understanding of the gravity of the problem. Even political parties like the Shiva Sena, whose basic commitment should be towards protecting women’s rights, make reactionary statements like “women invite rape by wearing provocative clothes”. Women today are no longer confined to their homes and their jobs require them to be working at odd hours. It falls on India’s civil society to safeguard women even more but we have not adjusted to this fact. The courts need to become more sympathetic towards rape victims, increase the rate of convictions and mete out justice swiftly. None of this has happened.

Indians take pride in the visible symbols of the progress of their cities-whether it is urban growth rate or the mushrooming of malls. But economic growth means little if the same cities become zones of social anxiety where half of its citizens feel unsafe.

THE RETURN OF TERRORISM

There is no such thing as being prepared for or getting used to terrorism, India has lived with the scourge longer than most democracies, but every attack is like the first. The shock and grief over the loss of innocent lives and the devastation it visits upon the families are always deeply felt.

The serial blasts in Hyderabad, in which more than 40 people killed, caused damage not just to life and property but also to public sentiment. With Rakhsabandan, the markets were bound to be soft targets.

Today, we are dealing with a different kind of beast. Even though its roots and concerns are regional or national, terrorism is a global industry. India’s problem might be Kashmir-centric terrorism, but terrorists could come from anywhere, choose any target and strike at any time. The means available for spreading terror are difficult to detect, more sophisticated and for more lethal now.

Today we have to learn to live with terrorism; the terrorists may eventually learn that while they can take human lives, the human spirit is not as easily destructible.

THE FEEL GOOD FACTOR

India’s economic indices reveal that we have achieved record levels of growth. In the past few years, it was difficult to ignore the couple of clouds despite the silver linings. Around 2004, it was feared that the growth in India would be jobless and manufacturing would languish. Those fears have proved to be baseless. This economic surge has a heart. Every sector has expanded its employment numbers and there are new investments across the board. What is more encouraging is that the growth is not restricted to IT and other services sectors but has spread to traditional industries like textiles, steel, even readymade garments.

When celebrating any economic progress, all Indians wonder how our great rival China compares by the same standards. An increasing number of economists are beginning to bet on India. The reason is that unlike China’s investment-driven economy, India’s is consumption-led. Today, for the middle-class Indian affordability is no longer a function of price. The Indian consumer’s spending has moved from worrying about the MRP to quickly calculating the EMI. His urge to splurge has been accelerated by flexibility in pricing, the availability of easy loans, and product innovation, such as a PC for less than Rs 10,000 or a RS 10 phone recharge.

GLOBAL CHAMPS

In the past five years, 307 overseas companies have been acquired by Indian corporates, the worth of the mergers totalling $ 20 billion (over Rs 90,000 crore). The rate of Indian acquisitions has been growing exponentially over the past five years, the last two witnessing more than half of the 307 takeovers. The acquisitions reflect the growing confidence of Indian business because they believe they can do a better job than the foreign players. It also indicates the cash surpluses accumulated by companies in an economy consistently growing at 8 per cent. Indian businesses have emerged from fairly retrogressive economic conditions to embrace the global markets so much so that our business section calls these Indians the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The open economy of the past 15 years has forced Indian companies to become globally competitive. They have realised there is no reason why they should confine themselves to the domestic market. For many, the only way to go is global. The smartest of firms know that building assets in India takes far too long and comes with too many strings attached and therefore have begun to shop abroad.

The story of the Indian software companies’ overseas thrust is well documented but the international forays of companies in the manufacturing sector are relatively new. The audacity and aggression is truly breathtaking. Bharat Forge is the second largest forging company in the world; Ranbaxy is among the top eight generic drug manufacturers in the world. Asian Paints is one of the top five paint companies in the world. M&M is emerging as one of the world’s largest farm equipment companies.

INDIAN FASHION INDUSTRY

Today, India is in vogue again as a result of the work of many talented people in the fashion industry.
Unlike before, the Indian motif is one of luxury and confidence. Designers in the West are using it to make a statement- whether it is Cavalli who put Goddesses on bikinis or Prada whose latest collection uses the peacock feather. The transformation that has already taken place in other sectors like business and economy is now finding expression in fashion in a significant way. It is a reflection of India’s larger engagement with the world.
Behind the arc lights of the recent India Fashion Week, real business was being conducted. Buyers from major western retail chains came looking for genuine local talent. Be it Selfridges, Harrods or Browns, mainstream stores in the West now retail the collections of some of our best designers. More than a generic Indian “look”, the label of the Indian designer is also being sought after.