Thursday, March 29, 2012

Prediction coming true.

My friend Praveen Dhopat reminded me that I have not written a blog for nearly a month. Well, there were many things to write about but I was "distracted" by important work. But it is also true that I did not feel very energetic about what I wanted to write.

I am at Oxford at the Skoll World Forum. This morning, when I opened the Times of India online, the following news hit me. It seems the BRICS summit is discussing setting up a rival Bank to the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank in order to finance development and infrastructure projects. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BRICS-summit-opens-in-New-Delhi-focuses-on-new-development-bank/articleshow/12451783.cms

As many of my friends know, I have a long story - some call it a novel- called "Sambhav" to my credit. It was inspired by the movie "Oh, God!" released in 1977. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh,_God!

The name Sanbhav is a play on the word which in Marathi means "possible" or in Sanskrut means "birth" or My story, written in the period 1992-94,  was different than the film 'Oh, God" or other works based on the same basic theme of God landing up on the Earth, In my novel a man claiming to be God appears in Mumbai and the characters of the novel, as also the readers,  are all engaged in trying to figure out if 'he' is indeed what he says he is. What is the purpose of his arriving? So, my novel takes the form of a thriller. In the end it turns out that the Prime Minister of India rises in the Parliament to declare setting up a rival International Monetary Fund with South-South collaborations. So, for a story written almost two decades ago, the prediction was not too bad!

As predictions go, not everything in the story fits well. But, I am quite tickled that the broader prediction is unfolding!

(Within 18 hours of the first news on the matter, The Times had the following to say-  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Fear-of-China-scuttles-move-for-BRICS-bank/articleshow/12462714.cms

Now I predict that the next blog will come soon. Ha, ha!