It isn’t every day that one gets to meet the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, in a small gathering where one could shake his hand and even wish him luck for his wife Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. And all this without standing in a long queue. Those mesmerising blue eyes twinkled as he crossed his fingers for Hillary. Is it the Southern drawl or the laconic style? His charisma reaches out to you, immediately!
Mr Clinton was in London giving the keynote address for the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, trying to persuade money makers and top management to invest and diversify in a way that the “have nots” can also become beneficiaries. He was persuasive as he gently gave examples of how “inclusive capitalism” works — much of it based on his experiences through the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. Since this was the day of the Tunisian massacre, he also spoke about how inclusive capitalism could create a world where the marginalised do not feel resentful enough to actually pick up guns to settle scores.
The coalition is the brainchild of the chic and energetic Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, and she pointed out how well the corporate bosses had reacted to the idea of shared prosperity and creating stakeholders and not just shareholders. Working with a wide swathe of asset owners and managers, corporations, NGOs, governments, the not-for-profit organisation has found a champion in Mr Clinton, who has linked inclusive capitalism to all aspects of social needs from healthcare to education.
Alderman Alan Yarrow, the lord mayor of London, also welcomed the gathering, stating his desire to see more inclusive employment, especially for the disabled. But at the end, to be honest, it was those ole twinkling blue eyes that could persuade you to do anything! And hopefully the corporates will give their social agenda a big push and change the way they make their money.
Meanwhile, it’s time for strawberries, cream and tennis in London. But if you are hoping this year to take photographs of a crackling Wimbledon, be careful when you whip out that mobile phone to take a selfie, as selfie sticks are totally banned. The same goes for video recording matches as live streaming will clash with those broadcasters who have bought telecast rights. But interestingly, it seems that Twitter has created a special emoji for Wimbledon — a strawberry! Even though it will go with the mood music when thousands are tweeting from Wimbledon, don’t you think the Wimbledon iconic emoji should have been a tennis racquet! Or perhaps Andy Murray? Or even his mom?
And yes, if you are still dreaming about buying a ticket for the men’s singles, don’t be shocked if you have to shell out more that two and half thousand pounds! Now that’s how supply and demand work.
But this year all events are going to be subdued as the UK struggles with the reality that in the recent massacres in Tunisia, the British might have been deliberately targeted. The UK attracts hundreds of illegal migrants from war-torn countries. Calais in France recently witnessed chaos and desperation as migrants tried to cross the channel. It is thanks to our wonderfully liberal society that migrants from repressive regimes throng here. And yet, terrorists target the UK for those very secular and liberal values. The Islamic State, through cunning use of the social media, is winning new recruits, two of whom were on that beach in Tunisia. Obviously what is required is a global propaganda war, on social media as well, on how cruel the Islamic State has become and how by targeting innocent, defenceless people on a beach, no one can gain spiritual succour. As the UK mourns, the world must come together and find a solution.
As national heroes are “re-discovered” in India, one of them was showcased at the Wembley stadium last week. Janta Raja, a play based on Chhatrapati Shivaji’s life, written by the now 92-year-old Babasaheb Purandare has been successfully drawing audiences in India for 30 years. But since the shows have been mostly in Maharashtra and possibly because Purandare is regarded as “controversial” we have rarely been exposed to this alternative view of heroes and histories. The play was presented here by Rajya Sabha MP Anil Madhav Dave, who also released his book on Shivaji.
Produced on a large scale, with a cast of over 200 (nearly 40 of those artistes having come in from India), the play combined folk music, dance and a sutradhar-driven narrative to weave together the courageous tale of a prince who takes on the might of the Mughal empire. Though the play is a straightforward eulogy to Shivaji, thanks to innovative production techniques such as the use of live animals, fireworks, and a lot of music, it was fairly riveting for the diaspora. And the best of it all was, unlike most Indian events, it began almost on time! Perhaps the times are really changing!
Kishwar Desai is an award-winning author
