The State of the World

In a year where over 40 countries are going to the polls to vote for leadership, it is difficult to see the quick resolution in a democratic manner the world surely needs

It sounds glamorous to travel across four countries, partly for work and partly for tourism at the end of winter and since these countries were all so different – Austria, Germany, USA and UAE, one would have expected that there would be little or no commonality of experiences. It was uncanny however to see many patterns emerging that cause some concern when one views the world today and tries to shape patterns for the future.

To start with a purely touristy experience, two days in Salzburg (Austria) in perfect sunny weather, including half a day singing the songs and visiting the amazing locales of the Sound of Music movie, should have been just fun; except for the fact that the tour guide on the bus spoke with great concern about the plight of the real Von Trapp family which served as the inspiration of the movie itself. Their escape from the clutches of the German Army was so well recounted by our guide that I sat up that night watching an excellent Youtube interview that Julie Andrews the movie star did later with the original Maria Von Trapp. Truly a throwback into a difficult time in war-torn Europe.

The next week was spent experiencing the amazing beer bars of Munich, cruising on the Rhine; visiting Heidelberg and Frankfurt; and spending a couple of days immersed in German history and culture at Nuremberg. For history buffs, the Nuremberg Trials would need no introduction, but a visit to the courtroom where so many former Nazis were tried and spending half a day watching history unfold before our eyes in the picture and video gallery, unveiled in our minds the motivations as well as the unfortunate realities of the crimes perpetrated by Adolf Hitler and his henchmen. This, at a time when the world watched for a few years before the Allied forces finally put an end to the regime. We had some years ago spent time in Auschwitz, the venue of many unspeakable horrors but digging deeper into the motivations of the Third Reich gave us an entirely new perspective on those times.

It was probably appropriate to engage in conversation with a few young Germans after that and reassuring that the younger generation are fully cognizant of this unfortunate chapter in their history and are also taking a very pragmatic view to move on and build their country. Our own close friend and former colleague from Pune, Vaidehi Rege, who has studied and lived in Germany for the last five years and her German friends are testimony to the fact that this is one resilient country that may be suffering from a slow economy but has built a strong education, skills and industry base, and certainly has a good future to look forward to.

A couple of weeks in New York, a place which is now second home to us, gave us time to visit and discuss current affairs with industry veterans, business school classmates and many people with mid- career struggles in this very vibrant city, even as winter slowly yielded to spring. While the American economy continues to be robust, the cost of living in big cities is putting a dampener on the optimism of career builders and the prospect of an election year with neither candidate appealing to the new generation of voters in the country, is contributing to a rather sombre mood on the East and West Coasts and other thinking parts of the country. There is the added realisation that all is not well with the world, with UK struggling with a weak economy and poor support for the Government. China continues to be a potential threat to the West and no great enthusiasm emerging in Africa, Asia or Latin America.

Clearly, the most dominant concern of the day remains in Gaza and to a lesser extent, the never-ending attacks of Russia on Ukraine. If one is aghast at the sins committed by the Third Reich in Nazi Germany, what can one say about the Hamas attack on Israel and the protracted attack on Gaza that has followed? At the time of writing this, it sounds improbable that a cease fire, even for a few weeks, can be negotiated and the fate of the hostages on one hand and the plight of the million plus hapless inhabitants of the territory are truly worrisome. In a year where over 40 countries are going to the polls to vote for leadership, it is difficult to see the quick resolution in a democratic manner the world surely needs.

While many of us in the social sector know there is still a lot to be done to bring prosperity to all parts of our country, India, we can be hopeful that a strong government with robust democratic practices can bring the much-needed sustained growth to the country and enable India to be a voice of reason in a divided world.