शिकागो की 'हरी' नदी

शिकागो 'हरी' नदी

शिकागो वाकई में खूबसूरत शहर है । एअरपोर्ट से होटल आने के बाद हमलोग शिकागो की सैर पर निकल गए और पहला पड़ाव था - मिशिगन झील । ठण्ड और हवा दोनों हमारे साथी थे । कुछ दूर चलने पर हमने देखा की पूरे शहर ने हरे रंग का ज़ामा पहना हुआ है । सर्ज से ज्ञात हुआ की आज यहाँ St. Peter's Day मनाया जा रहा है जब लोग हरा रंग धारण करते हैं, चाहे वह कपड़े के रूप में हो या एक हरे रंग की मोती की माला के रूप में या फिर हरे रंग की डाई किये हुए बाल के रूप में । और तो और शिकागो नदी का वह हिस्सा जो शहर के बीचोंबीच बहता है, उसे भी डाई डालकर हरा कर दिया जाता है । अद्भुत था इस नगरनिवासियों का हरे रंग के लिए प्रेम और St. Peter के लिए श्रधा ! मिशिगन झील के किनारे पहुँच कर हमें समझ आया की हम यहाँ ज्यादा देर ठंडी हवा का सामना नहीं कर सकते । इसलिए शहर की वास्तुकला का लुत्फ़ उठाते हुए हम आगे बढ़ गए । John Hancock Observatory, Millenium Park और Art Of Institute को निहारते हुए हम वापस होटल आ गए ।

अगला दिन रविवार था और हमारे पास काफी समय था घूमने के लिए । दोपहर में हमने फिर हिम्मत की और मिशिगन झील के किनारे पहुँच गए । उत्तरी अमेरिका की 5 सबसे बड़ी झीलों में से मिशिगन झील एक है । सूरज की गुनगुनाती धुप और ठंडी हवा के थपेड़ों के बीच हमने झील के किनारे पद-यात्रा की । जहाँ तक नज़र दौड़ाओ, पानी ही पानी नज़र आता था। कोई थाह नहीं । हमारा अगला लक्ष्य था - Art of Institute, जहाँ 'पिकासो और शिकागो' के 100 साल के रिश्ते को पिकासो के चित्रों के माध्यम से प्रस्तुत किया जा रहा था । लगभग डेढ़ घंटे घूमने के बाद भी हमें अधूरा-सा महसूस हुआ । काफी सलीके से विभिन्न चित्रकारों और अन्य कलाकारों की कृतियों को प्रस्तुत किया गया था । और हर कृति के साथ, उसके पीछे की कलाकार की सोच और कल्पना को शब्दों में अंकित किया गया था, भले वह माडर्न आर्ट क्यों न हो !

हमारी टीम

शिकागो में हमारी पहली मुलाक़ात Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce से हुई जहाँ उन्होंने हमें शहर के छोटे उद्यम और उद्यमियों की सहायता के लिए किये जा रहे प्रयास से अवगत कराया । इति, जो हमारे साथ थीं और FICC से थीं, ने उन्हें भारत में किये जा रहे समान प्रयासों के बारे में बताया । आने वाले ब्लॉग में, मैं इति और FICCI द्वारा किये जा रहे सराहनीय प्रयासों के बारे में और बताऊँगा । इति श्री !

Why women still can't have it all!

The provocative title is not something that sprang out of my brains, it's the title of an article which provoked endless conversations in the United States on the participation of women in workforce and work-life balance for them. Written by Anne-Marie Slaughter, who left her high-powered job in government to academia at Princeton University to stay close to her family, especially her two children, the article argues why the current economic and societal structure of US can't allow female to balance the demands of high-powered jobs and parental responsibilities. You can read the article here 

At the same time, the new book - Lean in - by  Sheryl Sandberg has brought the issue of women's leadership to the fore. I have just bought the book from one of the local book stores. You can listen to the TED talk of Sheryl Sanberg on 'Why we have too few women leaders', which has got more than 2 million hits.

It seems after a century when the first women suffrage parade took place in Washington a new movement is awaiting - this time to seek the right to get equal representation, with dignity, of women at the workplace.

The Reading Terminal Market

The reading Terminal Market

For lunch we went out to the Reading Terminal Market - a public market buzzing with dozens of take-away food stores and you can see a few Amish people there. I grabbed some Indian food there and spent a good time roaming around clicking pics. A live band performance made the space lively.

Next on our schedule was meeting with people from Mayor's office on a project called New Urban Mechanics. The meeting was hosted by the IVC Philadelphia at their office. It was interesting to know about the Mayors Challenge, initiated and funded by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, which was a competition inviting the American cities to generate innovative ideas to solve the major challenges of their cities. This is where the idea, New Urban Mechanics, put forward by Philadelphia got selected and funded. The idea is about identifying the social entrepreneurship ideas in the cities and supporting them. While the Mayor's office, Philadelphia, still need to work on the granular details of their project, I was delighted at such initiatives taken by the local governments in US. With the decentralization of power, the local governments here have more say and power in running their cities the way they want.

Tomorrow we'll be leaving for Chicago, the windy city, where the temperature is close to -1 Celsius. Well the reason why Chicago is called a windy city is not what you would be thinking right now. Here is something I picked while googling - "If you had always assumed that Chicago earned its nickname as the Windy City from the chilly gusts coming off Lake Michigan, you would be wrong. The city is windy, according to most local legends, because of the hot air bellowing from politicians."

Philadelphia is chilly!

Yes, it's chilly in Philadelphia - the city of brotherly love. Freezing wind blowing into your face and making it numb. The train ride from DC to Philadelphia gave us a chance to look at the rail transport of the US, which is not widely used by the public here. The 3-hour ride allowed us to discuss various topics such as religion, cinema and politics. A question was posed by Serge, our program officer, to us - how do we, belonging to a new modern generation, see the religion and the various traditions and rituals associated with it. A nice conversation ensued.

 

Coming from DC, I found the city, Philadelphia, with its high-rise buildings, craving for open spaces. It was probably because where we're placed in the downtown, the roads were narrow with the high-rise buildings standing as guards on both the sides. After knowing the history of the city and the many distinctions it bags, we felt proud to be in this city. Founded by William Penn, a Quaker, the city served as a meeting ground for the founding fathers of the US, who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It was the first city in the world where religious liberty was established and practiced. Benjamin Franklin is said to have migrated to this place as a young man, attracted by the freedom it promises in every walk of life, be it arts, culture or intellectual conversations. 

View from B-Lab office

Organised by IVC of Philadelphia, an NGO, our one-day program at Philadelphia was quite packed. The day started with meeting B-Lab. The topic of discussion was benefit corporations, a new form of business corporation legislation that has as one of its corporate purposes creating positive benefits for society and the environment. Such legislation has now been passed in thirteen states and Washington, DC. The basic premise is that Government and non-profits are necessary, but insufficient. Hence, B-Lab is dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. They do it by helping the business become a B-certified company; the certification is provided by the B-Lab after analyzing the social and environmental impact the company is producing. In the process, if required, they ask the business to change the way they run in the sense that there is more transparency and accountability, there is more focus on the welfare of the employees. At the end, GIIRS rating is given to these businesses which help them in raising funds from big foundations such as the Rockefeller, Skoll and JP Morgan. It was interesting to know the birth of the B-Lab. The founder, who sold his athletic accessories company worth million dollars and which was very much dedicated to the welfare of their employees, was concerned about the social impact the company will continue to create with the next rung of leadership. The thought that the traditional business should be the way to bring social and environmental change led to the birth of the B-Lab. They are planning to enter into India, where I guess they will be faced by diverse set of challenges. Also, there is something called Sec 25 company in India, which I suggested them to explore and understand before they land on India. Watch this TED talk for more details.

The view from the office at One Logan Square was amazing. The Philadelphia Museum of Art was visible where Rocky made the famous run up the front steps, which is now called as Rocky Steps. We're now moving for lunch.

It's rainy and windy!

Well it rained yesterday, enough to bring the umbrellas out of the closet. And it resulted into windy days and nights. The days are still beautiful with the wind blowing in your face and the sunshine soothing you. It's a cocktail of embracing warmth and chilling cold. And I'm loving it.

In the past few days, we had meetings with the States' Department officials from various departments such as Economic Development Administration of Department of Commerce, Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in Domestic Policy Council, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and Office of the Special Advisor for Global Youth Issues and organisations such as Ashoka, Kairos Society and DC Social Innovation Project. None of the conversations with the people from the above departments or organisations, I must say, was one-sided. As much as we were eager to understand the rise of entrepreneurship and the participation of the youth in US, they were keen to learn the scene of social entrepreneurship in India and inclination of the youth towards it. The insights, to both the parties, were undoubtedly interesting. In India, whereas the estimates say that on every 400 people there is one NGO, it is highly debatable that how many of them are really functional in true sense. Free market keeps checks and balances on the NGOs in US and only those survive who are delivering value to the masses. Government really doesn't do much to keep a vigil eye on the NGOs. However, access to capital is an issue for the non-profits in US especially after the economic downturn when the foundations and philanthropists pulled out from many investees. Nevertheless, the social entrepreneurship is on rise with facilitation from the government (federal and state) and participation of the youth in considerable number. It still has to go long way as many youngsters from reputed universities of US are still going for stable jobs. Good thing is that, unlike in India, failures here are admired and respected by the society. This allows youngsters to, without worrying for the society, freely take the path of enterprise, or for that matter social enterprise.

While the women in India still need to come out of their homes without the big ghoongat, the challenges for the women in US are altogether different. As per Caroline Pugh, President of the Washington Region, The Kairos Society, the women entrepreneurs here feel intimidated in reaching out to the male mentors. There is a need for more female mentors. 'Why women still can't have it all' - an article by Anne-Marie Slaughter provoked an endless ruminations about gender quality and work-life balance. Similarly, the controversial book - Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead - by Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, who is successfully managing  a career, a happy marriage and motherhood, has become must read for every aspiring woman entrepreneur.

Kennedy Centre

We managed to steal some time to do the cultural visits as well. The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and the American-Indian National Museum, both with impressive architecture and rich content amazed us and made our day. The day culminated in a visit to Serge Bulds', our program officer's home at DC. After enjoying a good dinner and some Metaxa brandy at his beautiful small home, we walked back to our hotel room braving the chilly wind. Tomorrow we'll be moving to Philadelphia.

First meeting - Getting the context right

“My dear friends from India, no system is perfect. Cost-benefit analysis is what should guide you in deciding what system you should adopt. The decentralized or bottom-up approach to governance was adopted by the founders of United States and we still continue to follow this system. The reason – the benefits to the society is far higher than the cost being incurred. We think as entrepreneurs. And if we face any threat to this system, I feel that there is one quality of our nation which will keep us on the right track. And that is flexibility, my friend.”

Akram Elias

Staring into our eyes, Mr. Akram Elias, Founder and CEO of Capital Communications Group, was sitting right across the big oak table in the executive board room of Lowes Madison Hotel and was animatedly replying to my question on the demerits of the decentralized government now that US had been practicing it for so many years. Capital Communications Group is an international consulting firm whose members have expertise in current political, business, social and cultural issues. CCG provides a variety of services to government and private clients in the areas of public diplomacy, cultural awareness, strategic language services, media and communication strategies, and orientations to Washington, DC.

In the social order of US, an individual is on the highest pedestal and is the sole focus of all the activities. No group or no collective is above an individual when it comes to taking key decisions here. Laid by the founding fathers of US, the thinking was carried further by the generations of leaders. ‘I am an individual and no one, not even the government, can or should decide how should I behave or how should I develop. That sole right is mine’ – is the basic premise here. Absence of any censorship in this country verifies this. Whereas, we in India say ‘akela chana bhaad nahin fod sakta’ (you can’t do anything alone) and there is lot of emphasis on group work and collaboration right from our school days. US being a land of immigrants, it is believed that the talents could be retained only if they are given the freedom to flourish. That explains the three freedoms guaranteed by the US constitution – freedom of speech, of religion and of association. One then wonders about the ‘association’ and hence the role of civil societies on the landscape of US. Strangely, they are the most active ones and mostly responsible for bringing any change in the policy or law, or bringing altogether a new policy or law by pressurizing the government. If you flip the pages of history, Akram said pounding on the table, you’ll see behind any policy or law there has been an involvement of one or other civil society.

In the economic order of US, small enterprise is the basic unit. ‘In the pursuit of happiness’ those who come to US are provided with ample opportunities. And that is the role government plays here – facilitating these small entrepreneurs of the country by creating an environment conducive to the growth of the small enterprise. One of the key issues over which the last election was fought was the taxation on the small enterprises and the big corporations. Interestingly, in the recent budget of India also, there is a heavy emphasis on promoting the SMEs.

In the political order, though the state government is the basic unit, is what Akram says, there is further decentralization by the formation of counties within a state. The 50 states are like 50 countries and free to operate the way they want to. Every state has its own constitution and set of laws to rule. There is further devolvement of the power by the formation of counties who can take key decisions on education, police and other important things. As you can see, the real power lies with the state and not the federal government. Akram advised us to forget the three terms – centre, central and centralised – during our course of stay in US. It has been a bottom-up approach to governance. The states felt the need to defend them from the external powers and keep the union intact, and hence came together to form the federal government. The defence was the sole purpose for which the federal government was formed. Everything else – dollar, foreign policy, and federal laws – followed. Politics is run as an enterprise here and all the politicians are entrepreneurs. While briefing on the House of Representatives and Senate, Akram took us through the entrepreneurial journey of a politician.

Finally Akram told us about few visits he had made to India and how he felt that the youngsters there are high on energy and smartness. What is required is unleashing their energies and channelising the same.

Coming from India, it was altogether new, and contrasting to what we see, observe and experience back in our country. The day left our group debating and discussing the various ideas and thoughts that we can pick for our country.

A bright sunny day

I am on a 3 week program, International Visitor Leadership Program, organised by US, meeting the social entrepreneurs and innovators of the state. The program covers Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Portland and Atlanta.
 
Not a good start of the day since I forgot to adjust my room clock according to the daylight savings time which started at 2 am on March 10^th. While the entire country was springing forward, I was sleeping in my fluffy bed. I didn’t realize until I went for my breakfast to find that all my co-participants were done and ready to leave. The car, a spacious 7 seater limousine with disco lights on the ceiling, was waiting outside to take us on the city tour. Our program officer, Mr. Serge Bulds, was repeatedly reminding us that we were late. I grabbed a toast, gulped down some orange juice and ran to the car.

A bright sunny day with a hint of winter in the air had brought smiles on all the faces. After blizzard on Wednesday, the sun was more than welcomed by the people of Washington DC. And a sunny smile was there on the face of our tour director, Ms. Lisa Damico. A gorgeous lady in red overcoat, Lisa exuded the enthusiasm of a person who is taking a tourist group around the city for the first time though we knew it has been her routine job. Lisa works with John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts and lives in Virginia and crosses the Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River every day to come to her office in Washington DC.

The tour started with the St. John’s Church on the Lafayette Square, located across the White House. Since many Presidents, starting from James Madison, have worshipped at this church, it is often called the President’s Church. Walking past the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park, referred to as the President’s Park, Lisa revealed to us that the statue of French General Marquis De Lafayette, in whose honor the park is named, was shifted to the south-east corner of the park after the relations with France got worse at some point in history. Many more such nuggets of interesting information were to come throughout our tour and that is really what made this tour memorable. The history of White House – when was it built, what was its color before it became ‘white house’, how it got its name, who lives there, where is oval office, and what will happen if you jump over the fence into the White House garden, etc. – was shared with us. Lot is there on wiki, so I’m tempted to skip this part. What was interesting was a small tent kind of structure, with posters of demonstrations, in front of the White House. While the presidents and the political scene keep on changing, this tent always remains there. Concepcion Picciotto, known as ‘the little giant’ is an activist for the world peace. Once she put up an image of George W. Bush with a long beard to make it look like Osama Bin Laden with the title – ‘The Real Teorrist’. ‘You will be immediately thrown out if you protest against the head of the state in front of his home. But this is not the case here, we really value the freedom of speech enshrined in our constitution,’ explained Lisa proudly.

The Willard Hotel was the next stop. What makes this hotel famous and hence worth a visit, is the list of the famous guests who have frequented this hotel. Many presidents of US, Mark Twain, Samuel Morse, Charles Dickens, and Emily Dickinson are some of them. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a portion of his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech in this hotel. Ulysses S. Grant, the former president, not allowed by his wife to smoke or drink at the White House, used to come to the hotel’s bar to smoke cigars and drink whiskey. Knowing his habit, people often came to see him at the hotel to seek favours and used to wait in the lobby. This probably is the origin of the term ‘lobbying’. In the bar, there is a framed picture of Abraham Lincoln without a beard, a rare thing.

               

Then we took the road to the Capitol Building and spent some time clicking in front of the building after Lisa explained to us the Federal system of government. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial was next on the list. Two big white rocks of despair and hope cutting right across the rocks, the signs of struggle visible where the hope has rubbed its shoulder against the rock. An amazing piece of architecture, with a big statue of determined Martin Luther King Jr. and many quotes by him written on the walls, made us gape in wonder. However the controversy that the statue is done by a Chinese sculptor and that too in China actually made us laugh. Then we walked to Lincoln memorial – the temple of democracy – located on the National Mall (national park). After seeing the movie ‘Lincoln’, I was craving to ‘meet’ him. Some interesting sculptural features that Lisa asked us to observe were – the clenched left fist and the firm left foot of the statue which show the determination and resoluteness of Lincoln, while the relaxed right palm and the forward right foot show his openness to embrace the southern states in the union. The famous Gettysberg address punched into the rock for generations to read and admire the blood and sweat the founding fathers and generations dedicated to the building of this nation.

Lisa, our tour guide on the extreme left

The tour ended on a little sad note when we visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with the names of 58195 names of the American soldiers, missing or dead, written on the big running dark wall. The architecture was simple yet thoughtful, and reminder of the casualties of the war.

A bright sunny day, a city of architectural wonders, a neat and clean and now a healthy city, a city of delight – made our day rejuvenating. We bade farewell to Lisa, thanking her profusely for the wonderful tour she conducted. Now we are waiting to meet Mr. Akram Elias, president and CEO of Capital Communications Group in the afternoon.