Duryodhana by Dr. V Raghunathan (Raghu), though based on the Mahabharatha, is indeed a product of the author’s vivid imagination. While most popular versions of the epic portray Duryodhana as the perpetrator of all that is wrong, as one who likes to side with the underdog, Raghu sees a good reason to view him as the wronged party instead.
The human race is not so much black or white as grey is how the prologue of the book begins. Duryodhana starts by saying the title of the chief villain of Mahabharatha belongs unequivocally to him. Why? Did it sway too much towards how the victors of the climactic war at Kurukshetra wanted it told? After all, it is human nature to find everything about the vanquished a vicious black. As the author builds on this perspective, the narrative of the story as has been told over and over completely changes.
Suyodhana , which is what the central character of the book claims to be his original name, extols the values on which he was nurtured. Raghu gives him all the fire power to rationalize his actions and omissions right from his childhood up to getting battle ready for Kurukshetra. The end game – he carries no burden of Kurukshetra!
While reading through the pages, thanks to the masterly story-telling, you almost begin to sympathise with Duryodhana’s cause and woes as he successfully muddies the water. Be it the necessity to eliminate Bhima or later the Pandavas and Kunti – it is all for the Rajdharma. His paranoia driven by the malafide ways of Kunti in pushing the case of Pandavas. The spin on Krishna’s complicity; societal inconsistencies leading to unfair treatment meted out to Karna and Eklavya by Drona. Not to miss the need to displace his blind father from the throne.
The Panchali swayamvar and the injustice to Karna; creation of Indraprastha; the chink in Yudhishthira’s character given his proclivity towards gambling and his focus on the rights of a king alone rather than his duty as a husband or brother or king. Raghu makes the case for Duryodhana so compelling that you also begin to believe into the villainy of Yudhisthira. While he weaves the drama of Shakuni’s machinations with the dice play, the senior most Pandava is made to look a weakling.
As the game of dice climaxes the author kicks up a mighty resurging tsunami of a passion for Panchali. The need to end the story with the battle scene is obviated by the foreplay of the war raging in the head and heart of the chief character. Raghu keeps Krishna merged in the backdrop, emerging only when Panchali shouts for his help.
So overpowering is the effect that Raghu lets Duryodhana succeed in making everything and everyone look and feel grey. It leaves a hangover that refuses to clear easily. A unique experiment worth undergoing whether or not you are a believer. And for sure a great script to enact on the stage!
The flight of the butterflies at Jambudi
Is pure delight
On the foothills of Pavagadh, home of Goddess Kalika
In whose glory is performed the Garba
These colorful winged creatures
Seem to be its originators
Fluttering and dancing to an inaudible rhapsody
With no trace of cacophony
Once the sun sets and the skies begin to get starry
It’s now the turn for something gently fiery
The fireflies take over the theatre
A spectacle increasingly rare
Perhaps as a tribute to the volcano
That was aglow 500 million years ago!
Where could healthcare be headed? Coming from a time when there was no health insurance and in fact if there was one it was for the livestock! Brave New World (Aldous Huxely) and Future Shock (Alvin Toffler) had in particular stimulated my imagination. Thanks to origins in a medical family, there lay several influencers. One was surely the Journal of American College of Surgeons! Courtesy my father, who is their Fellow. It would generally carry interesting insights into medical malpractice including debates on tort reform in healthcare. To me, ever since, healthcare and tort go hand in hand. Two recent authors in particular have been a further influence. Antifragile by Nassem Taleb – he makes frontal attacks on how modern medicine may do more harm than good and The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver. Nate’s focus is on politics, baseball, basketball, poker, hurricanes, global warming, stock market and Capitol Hill.
Nate talks about how being smarter about the future helps us make better decisions in the present? He reminds forecasters to stay motivated by truth rather than by politics and thereby notice a thousand little details that bring them closer to it. Because of these attitudes he believes, they can distinguish the signal from the noise. With everything from the health of the global economy to our ability to fight disease dependent on the quality of our predictions, Nate Silver’s insights are an essential read. In my presentation I endeavour to sift through some of the trends in the world of healthcare and seek help in separating the signals from the noise.
Not many of us realise that when we visit a hospital – while we may get cured of what got us there – we may, however, have contracted another disease. It could also be a side effect of a medicine administered or a combination of a procedure and the medicine. An unintended consequence or Iatrogenics! Are there insurance policies which would cover not only the hospitalisation or treatment expenses and the harmful consequences of hospitalisation, as well? It may then not just stop with Iatrogenics. What about defensive medicine? Underwriters may run into mind blocks of their own creation. A tort component to an existing health cover may be described as a combo of first and third party covers!
Recently, while addressing a predominant group of actuaries, I tried moving their cheese! But these are two different triggers, responded one of them. To my response – don’t they converge- there was an utter silence. While tort has been long embedded in the Indian jurisprudence, we blissfully stay clear – believing that we have some kind of arbitrage till such time our legal machinery becomes a well oiled one. The Companies Act 2013 is a landmark development. Moreover, the MAGGI and UBER cases – notwithstanding their respective legal outcomes – will have far reaching implications for tortious triggers and remedial measures.
Would coverage of pharma liability, clinical trials and medical malpractice be by any stretch of imagination too form a part of health cover? I asked the same audience. It takes quite an effort to converge the varying triggers and the economics of health insurance just does that. Most tend to eventually agree that cost of tort adds to health care ecosystem. If there are no R&D investments into new blockbuster drugs, how do we beat say the drug resistant microbes? Or newer lifestyle health issues? New trials will possibly lead to new drug discovery, these in turn would have risks associated with them. Likewise, someone ought to also pick up the errors and omission costs of doctors and medical establishments. If there were no risk transfer mechanism, this would be a cost push towards the consumer. Hence a more expensive healthcare environment.
We need to revisit what all constitutes healthcare cost and accept that the current form of healthcare expense is only a very narrow approach. The tort component will only grow as the complexities of modern life increasingly impact us. Underwriters and actuaries can only ignore these at their own peril. Last but not the least, can we learn from the challenges already faced by the American society?
Here’s my presentation: Tort in healthcare
Adapting long-tail pricing models: Scope for shared learning – India & China
Abstract: Long-tail liability class poses unique challenges in any jurisdiction where new products are adapted for the first time. The key issue relates to pricing. With no past experience on frequency and severity of claims, in this class, the pricing models have to be adapted from overseas environment. As tort raises its head in adapted markets, pricing adequacy will be tested in such places. In the meantime, what do markets do to ensure there are no rude shocks-in-making. Particularly when pricing pressures in the short-tail classes tend to have a rub-on effect on the longer-tailed. The paper explores the current situation in India; what are the likely pit-falls in making and possible corrective actions. Last but not the least, can India and China share some learning? Despite the differences in market evolution and legal systems, there may still be significant scope for collaboration.
Here is the thought process in the form of the presentation at Shenzhen: Adapting long-tail pricing
As I said, the Companies Act 2013 and some of the recent landmark cases which are still developing would have changed the play-field for good. The point I was making at the Progressive Lawyers Group at Chandigarh was that the onset of tort age would dramatically challenge our already over burdened legal infrastructure. The presentation highlights the emerging triggers and how would they need to be addressed. Perhaps more alternate dispute resolution and outside court settlements: Tort flood
Do you believe in miracles?
“Do you believe in miracles?” asked my new found friend Richard, on the last leg of my trip from Hangzhou to Hong Kong. When I first boarded the flight from Hong Kong and mentally prepared myself for a leap from the Pearl River delta to almost the Yangtze delta – the thought of straddling the civilisation’s fastest and highest economic growth region was uppermost in my mind. On the flight path would zip past names like Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, Guangzhou, Taiwan (across the straits), Xiamen, Fuzhou and many others as the plane advanced from the South China to the East China Sea. Some of these locations had witnessed an annual GDP growth in excess of 30%. It was as if everyone had conspired to ensure China’s staggering growth virtually from zero to hero!
It was literally a smooth landing in Hangzhou. The baggage, immigration and customs were spot on. All real superefficient. At the exit it was not a Mr Zhou but a lady in her fifties standing with a placard bearing my name. In no time I was in the sedan heading to my hotel. The only communication that I had with Ms Li (got to know the name when confirming my return drop) was a smile. She knew no English whatsoever. I am sure she learnt driving when in her thirties if not forties. But she drove as if she was doing it forever. Not many amongst the hotel staff knew any English either. However, in no time they would pull out their mobile and rely on the Google translator. I am sure they would do so if they ran into an alien as well! My English is not that good is what I heard all the time from both the speakers and the audience at my conference. That, however, is no glass ceiling for anyone in the country.
Shanghai which is just an hour away from Hangzhou by a bullet train can take two plus hours by road. My friend Andreas, a German, his Chinese wife Min and little son Alexander chose to be driven by Mr Tao. We ended up sightseeing one of the many water towns in China. Wu Zhen (pronounced Oo Ten) is almost mid-way from Shanghai and Hangzhou. On a Sunday it was an incredible collection of cars. Andreas tells me why no smaller ones were visible. To keep the car population under control, in Shanghai, you must buy your registration number in an auction – if that costs equivalent of Rs 8 lacs, who would buy a small car? I remembered from my times in HK when cars were stolen and ferried across to the mainland in a speed boat. It all started with small cars. Eventually as the ‘other’ side got richer, it was the Mercs and Lexus which became the hot favourite. None cared whether it was a left or right hand drive! Today China is the largest auto market in the world.
Richard and I agreed that all this could not have just emanated from Deng Xiao Ping’s vision alone. It called for much more. He had the courage to make the choice to transform China, implement his grand design and eventually influence the rest of the world. Richard moved from textiles business to women’s designer clothing. From HK he was headed to New York where he was attending a trade show. With him was his business partner wife Lily. My Chairman is how he referred to her. The couple is extremely articulate in English. Their son Rocky is a budding artist. What to do, says Richard, he is constantly demanding attention. With the one child policy – he has no company. Every night I must tell him a story. Is it true I ask him whether there is a severe shortage of brides? Yes he says, they must buy them from Vietnam. With a chuckle he tells me sometimes the wives run away. They must buy another wife!
Zhejiang is a small province but one of the richest. The Zhejiangese are astute business folks and are often referred to as the Jews amongst the Chinese. Their businesses are not very big but profitable just like the Italian companies. Small is better! Says Richard. He is very proud to share that Jack Ma’s office is in the same building as theirs. Lily tells me Jack still runs English classes.
During the travel I discover what the Chinese call Jing-Jin-Ji (“Jing” for Beijing, “Jin” for Tianjin and “Ji” the traditional name for Hebei Province). This is supposed to rival both the Pearl and Yangtze River Deltas. This supercity of 130 million would be spread over 82,000 square miles and will hold a population larger than a third of the US, according to Ian Johnson in International New York Times. With high speed rail hitting 150 to 185 miles an hour will possibly stretch the urban area concentration way beyond the thumb rule of 60 miles which on an average a highway driving covers. “Speed replaces distance” the paper quotes Professor Zhang of Hebei University of Technology. Thereby “It has radically expanded the scope of what an economic area can be”, believes the Professor.
Alex who is not yet three, is what I call ‘ambilingual’ with either parent. He converses with the father in German and in Mandarin with the mom. Where will he eventually grow? Does it really matter? With grandparents in Beijing, self in the heart of the Yangtze River delta and a likelihood of his dad moving to HK could just make him transcend three of the civilisation’s most dynamic hubs ever.
On the Dragonair flight back to HK – we are discussing the prospects of what the Mainlanders are eagerly hoping will also translate the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ into a reality. The possible merger of Hong Kong with Shenzhen! The New Silk Road as means of soft power for China, as well. The on-flight magazine incidentally has a cover story on this theme. It features Kunming, Kathmandu, Almaty, Xiamen, Da Nang and Colombo. Richard is very excited about its prospects. Will it be a brick and mortar silk route this time or a virtual one? I believe it will be the likes of Alibaba riding the internet that will lay the newest silk route. Charting the road less travelled. As we get off and part, Richard ensures that I log on to ‘wechat’ to stay in touch. Well, Open Sesame if that is the access to The New Silk Route and how can one just not believe in miracles??
India’s newly opened and promising P&C* insurance market was fast out of the gate; however, as the market matures, insurers are rethinking their participation as they attempt to build a more solid business and attract investors.
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