Skip to main content

NaMo in the valley - a short timeline

The Pope was jealous of Narendra Modi aka NaMo.  You could see it in his sad look as he traveled on the east coast and did not get to meet the valley elite.  Both lead over a billion people, each of different faiths, both sport four letter call signs and yet the contrast in their visits was palpable.

Even Lord Ganesh who was the Silicon Valley Idol until last weekend probably had a feeling of being let down (in the SF bay and otherwise) as the fickle crowds switched their chants from Om Ganesha to NaMo.

The Indian Prime Minister flew in on his own havai jahaj aka an American made Boeing 747, painted with colors of Air India to its maiden flight into San Jose International Airport right in the middle of the techno campii (plural of campus maybe).

He spoke in Hindi (translated by some traveling babus to English and making for a very confusing message) to the cult of ex-pats that went to greet him and that surrounded him like no surround sound ever did, chanting his name and wanting to hear him speak after apparently being subjected to security tighter than a bee's ass.

He sold out to a 20,000 crowd of Indians in SAP center so named for a German software company that leases the rights to the stadium's name in San Jose, CA.

He got to sit and chat with otherwise golf shirt sporting CEOs that had to wear suits to suit the protocol. NaMo in his usual casual Indian khadi (rough cotton) garments was ironic.

He got to tour the big brand offices of Google, Facebook and meet with CEOs of all big name techs from Apple to IBM.  And give Mark Zuck a bear hug that almost crushed him - that kevlar vest can be suffocating in close proximity.  During that hug NaMo let Mark know that the kid only succeeded because he - NaMo's India - provided half the 'like' happy; 'looking hot' posting morons to make FB a billion user brand.

As a brown man he met another - this time California Governor - Jerry Brown who happens to be white.  He asked for partnerships to bring India out of the past into the future.  Jerry talked to him how CA's new slogan is Brown is the new Green.  He was referring to the people's yards that due to drought are not being watered.  NaMo knew a thing or two about droughts, no doubt.



Labels:

Comments

  1. RajendraSeptember 28, 2015 at 10:17 PM

    Namo has made it a habit to Pop(e) in and out of countries and valleys. He could earn an NRI Coat of Arms-in khadi, of course.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A few good books

 On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...
Post a Comment
Read more

Back in DC

This time for a tech conference in the realm of what else? AI. But applied to an oft neglected space called Knowledge Management. The latter is a community of practice that focuses on analyzing, organizing and making available reams of data that have been gathered over time by various functions within an organization for anyone in the company to utilize. This function or process is ripe for applying AI agents (or agentic AI framework) and optimize for better outcomes. It was informative. More rewarding was getting acquainted with folks who practice this craft as well as learning of what they see in the corporate or public sectors. Since the venue was Washington DC it also afforded me the chance to take evening strolls albeit the weather was trying. With wind chill in the single digit it still is a glamorous place to perambulate through history absorbing what this country has been through since its founding days. I was able to visit the place Lincoln was killed along with his monument t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Costa Rica

 Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry.   Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while.  Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...
Post a Comment
Read more