Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 21~22

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE I Lick the Body Electric The Maui sunset had set the sky on fire and everything in the bungalow had taken on the glowing pink tone of paradise – or hell, depending on where you were standing. Clay dismembered the bird and put the severed pieces on a platter to transport them to the grill. â€Å"You'll need something to bring those in on,† Clair said. Her dress was a purple hibiscus-flower print, and the orchid she wore in her hair looked like lavender dragonflies humping. She was dicing pickles into the macaroni salad. â€Å"What's wrong with this?† Clay held up the plate with the raw chicken. â€Å"You can't use the same plate. You'll get salmonella.† â€Å"Fine, fuck it,† Clay said, tossing the plate into the yard. The chicken parts bounced nicely, breading themselves with a light coating of sand, ants, and dried grass. â€Å"When did chicken become like plutonium anyway, for Christ's sake? You can't let it touch you or it's certain fucking death. And eggs and hamburgers kill you unless you cook them to the consistency of limestone! And if you turn on your fucking cell phone, the plane is going to plunge out of the sky in a ball of flames? And kids can't take a dump anymore but they have to have a helmet and pads on make them look like the Road Warrior. Right? Right? What the fuck happened to the world? When did everything get so goddamn deadly? Huh? I've been going to sea for thirty damned years, and nothing's killed me. I've swum with everything that can bite, sting, or eat you, and I've done every stupid thing at depth that any human can – and I'm still alive. Fuck, Clair, I was unconscious for an hour underwa ter less than a week ago, and it didn't kill me. Now you're going to tell me that I'm going to get whacked by a fucking chicken leg? Well, just fuck it then!† He didn't know where to go, so he came back in and slammed the screen door behind him, then opened it and slammed it again. â€Å"Goddamn it!† And he stood there, breathing hard. Not really looking at anything. Clair put down her knife and pickle, then wiped her hands. As she came toward Clay she pulled a large bobby pin from the back of her hair, and her long, thick locks cascaded down her back. She took Clay's right hand and kissed each of his fingertips, licked his thumb, then took his index finger in her mouth and made a show of removing it slowly and with maximum moisture. Clay looked at the floor, shaking. â€Å"Baby,† she said as she placed the bobby pin firmly between Clay's wet thumb and index finger, â€Å"I need you to go over to that wall and take this bobby pin and insert it ever so firmly into that electrical outlet over there.† Clay looked up at her at last. â€Å"Because,† she continued, â€Å"I know that you aren't mad at me and that you're just grieving for your friends, but I think you need to be reminded that you aren't invulnerable and that you can hurt even more than you do now. And I think it would be better if you did it yourself, because otherwise I'll have to brain you with your own iron skillet.† â€Å"That would be wrong,† Clay said. â€Å"It is a cruel world, baby.† Clay took her in his arms and buried his face in her hair and just stood there in the doorway for a long time. Amy had been missing for thirty-two hours. That morning a fisherman had found her kayak washing against some rocks on Molokai and had called the rental company in Maui. A life jacket was still strapped on the front of the boat, he said. The Coast Guard had stopped looking already. â€Å"Now, let me go,† Clair said. â€Å"I have to get that chicken out of the yard and rinse it off.† â€Å"I don't think we should eat that.† â€Å"Please. I'm going to cook it up for Kona. You're taking me out.† â€Å"I am?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"After I stick this in the outlet, right?† â€Å"You can grieve, Clay – that's as it should be – but you can't feel guilty for being alive.† â€Å"So, I don't have to stick this in the outlet?† â€Å"You used foul language at me, baby. I don't see any way around it.† â€Å"Oh, well, that's true. You go get Kona's chicken out of the yard. I'll do this.† On the second morning after Amy was lost at sea, Clay walked to the seaside, a rocky beach between some condos north of Lahaina – too short for morning runners, too shallow for a bathing crowd. He stood on an outcropping of rocks with the waves crashing around him and tried to let pure hatred run out of his heart. Clay Demodocus was a guy who liked things, and among the things he had liked the most was the sea, but this morning he held nothing but disdain for his old friend. The sapphire blue was indifferent, the waves elitist. She'd kill you without even learning your name. â€Å"You bitch,† Clay said, loud enough for the sea to hear. He spit into her face and walked back home. That old trickster Maui had been sitting on a rock nearby watching, and he laughed at Clay's hubris. Maui admired a man with more balls than brains, even a haole. He cast a small blessing at the photographer – just a trinket for the laugh, a trifling little mango of magic – and then he headed off to the great banyan tree to fog the film of Japanese tourists. Back in what was now only his office, Clay dug Amy's resume out of his files and made the call. He braced himself, trying to figure out how, exactly, he was going to tell these strangers that their daughter was missing and assumed to have drowned. He felt sad and alone, and his elbow hurt from the jolt of electricity he'd taken the night before. He didn't want to do this. He reached for the phone, then stopped and closed his eyes, as if he could make the whole thing go away, but on the back of his eyelids he saw the face of his mother as he had last seen her, looking up at him out of her barrel of brine, â€Å"Make the call, you pussy. If anyone knows how not to get bad news, it's you. Part of loyalty is following up, you sniveling coward. Don't be like your brothers.† Ah, sweet Mama, Clay thought. He dialed the phone – a number with a 716 area code, Tonawanda, New York. It rang three times, and the recorded operator came on, saying that the number he'd reached was not in service at this time. He checked it, then dialed the next number down, which also turned out not to be working. He called Tonawanda information for Amy's parents, and the operator told him there was no such listing. At a loss, he called Woods Hole Oceanographic Center, where Amy had gotten her master's. Clay knew one of her advisers, Marcus Loughten, an irascible Brit who had worked at Woods Hole for twenty years and was famous in the field for his work in underwater acoustics. Loughten answered on the third ring. â€Å"Loughten,† Loughten said.: â€Å"Marcus, this is Clay Demodocus. We worked together on –  » â€Å"Yes, Clay, I bloody know who you are. Calling from Hawaii, are you?† â€Å"Well, yes, I – ; â€Å"Probably, what, seventy-eight degrees with a breeze? It's seven below zero Fahrenheit here. I'm out installing bloody sound buoys in a monthlong blizzard to keep right whales from getting run over by supertankers.† â€Å"Right, the sound buoys. How are those working out?† â€Å"They're not.† â€Å"No? Why not?† â€Å"Well, right whales are stupid as shit, aren't they? It's not like a supertanker is quiet. If sound was going to deter them, then they'd be bloody well deterred by the engine noise, wouldn't they? They don't make the connection. Stupid shits.† â€Å"Oh, sorry to hear that. Uh, why keep doing it then?† â€Å"We have funding.† â€Å"Right. Look, Marcus, I need some information on one of your students who came out here to work with us. Amy Earhart? Would have been with you guys until fall of last year.† â€Å"No, I don't know that name.† â€Å"Sure you do, five-five, thin, pale, dark hair with kind of unnatural blue highlights, smart as a whip.† â€Å"Sorry, Clay. That doesn't fit any of my students.† Clay took a deep breath and trudged on. Biologists were notorious for treating their grad students as subhuman, but Clay was surprised that Loughten didn't remember Amy. She was cute, and if Clay could judge from a night of drinking he'd done with Loughten at a marine mammal conference in France, the Brit was more than a bit of a horndog. â€Å"Great ass, Marcus. You'd remember.† â€Å"I'm sure I would, but I don't.† Clay studied the resume. â€Å"What about Peter? Would he –  » â€Å"No, Clay, I know all of Peter's grad students as well. Did you call to confirm her references when you took her on?† â€Å"Well, no.† â€Å"Good work, then. Abscond with your Nikons, did she?† â€Å"No, she's missing at sea. I'm trying to contact her family.† â€Å"Sorry. Wish I could be of help. I'll check the records, just to be sure – in case I've had a ministroke that killed the part of the brain that remembers fine bottoms.† â€Å"Thanks.† â€Å"Good luck, Clay. My best to Quinn.† Clay cringed. It turned out he really wasn't up for bearing bad news. â€Å"Will do, Marcus. Good-bye.† Clay hung up and resumed staring at the phone. Well, he thought, I knew absolutely nothing about this woman that I thought I knew. Libby Quinn had already called (sobbing) to say that they should have some kind of joint service at the sanctuary for Nate and Amy, and that Clay should speak. What was he going to say about Amy? Dearly beloved, I think we all knew Amy as scientist, a colleague, a friend, a woman who showed up out of nowhere with a completely manufactured history, but I think, because she saved my life, that I came to know her better than anyone here, and I can tell you unequivocally, she was a smart aleck with a cute butt. Yeah, he'd need to work on that. Damn it, he missed them both. Clay decided to kill the day by editing video: time-eating busywork that supplied at least an imaginary escape from the real world. The afternoon found him going through the rebreather footage he'd taken on the day the whale had conked him, for the first time going past the point where he was unconscious, just to see if the camera picked up anything usable. Clay let the video run: minutes of blue water, the camera tossing around at the end of the wrist lanyard, then Amy's leg as she comes down to stop his descent. He cranked the audio. Hiss of ambient noise, then the bubbles from Amy's regulator, the slow hiss of his own breathing through the rebreather. As Amy starts to swim to the surface, the camera catches his fins hanging limply against a field of blue, then Amy's fins kicking in and out of the frame. Both their breathing is steady on the audio track. Clay looked at the time signature of the video. Fifteen minutes when the motion stops. Amy making her first decompression stop. On the audio he hears the chorus of distant singing humpbacks, a boat motor not too far off, and Amy's steady bubbles. Then the bubbles stop. The camera settles against his thigh and drifts, the lens up, catches light from the surface, then Amy's hand holding on to his buoyancy vest, reading the data off his dive computer. Her regulator is out of her mouth. On the audio there's only his breathing. The camera swings away. Ten minutes more pass. Clay listens for Amy's breathing to resume. The motion from her hooking into the rescue tank on the rebreather should move the camera, but there's just the same gentle drift. They move up. Clay guesses maybe to seventy-five feet. Amy is doing another decompression stop, doing it by the book, despite the emergency. Except he still can hear only one person breathing. She pulls him to more shallow depth. The frame lightens up, and the camera swings around, the wide angle showing Clay's unconscious form and Amy kicking, the regulator out of her mouth, looking at the surface. She hasn't used the bail-out tank on Clay's rebreather, and she hasn't taken a breath for, as far as Clay can tell, forty minutes. This can't be right. He listens, watching until the time signature shows sixty and the tape ends – the entire thing having been dubbed to the hard drive. He rewinds it on-screen, slowing down when the camera shows anything but blue, listening again. â€Å"No fucking way.† Clay backed away from the monitor, watching as the video ran out again and froze on the image of Amy holding him steady at twenty or so feet down, no regulator in her mouth. He ran out the door, calling, â€Å"Kona! Kona!† The surfer came shuffling out of his bungalow in a cloud of smoke. â€Å"Just tracking down navy spies, boss.† â€Å"Where did you guys put the rebreather? The day they took me to the hospital?† â€Å"She's in the storage shed.† Clay made a beeline for the bungalow they used to store dive and boat equipment. He waved Kona after him. â€Å"Come.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Did you guys refill the oxygen or the bail-out tanks?† â€Å"We just rinsed it and put it in the case.† Clay pulled the big Pelican case off a stack of scuba tanks and popped the latches. The rebreather was snug in the foam padding. Clay wrenched it out onto the wooden floor and turned on the computer that was an integral part of it. He hit buttons on the display console and watched the gray liquid-crystal display cycle through the numbers. The last dive: Downtime had been seventy-five minutes, forty-three seconds. The oxygen cylinder was nearly full. The bail-out air supply was full. Full. It hadn't been touched. Somehow Amy had stayed underwater for an hour without an air supply. Clay turned to the surfer. â€Å"Do you remember anything that Nate showed you about what he was working on? I need details – I know in general.† Clay wasn't sure what he was looking for, but this had to mean something, and all he had to fall back on was Nate's research. The surfer scratched the dreadless side of his head. â€Å"Something about the whales singing binary.† â€Å"Come show me.† Clay stormed through the door and back to the office. â€Å"What you looking for?† â€Å"I don't know. Clues. Mysteries. Meaning.† â€Å"You gone lolo, you know?† CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Deep Below, Bernard Stirs About the time that Nathan Quinn had started to master his nausea in the whale ship's constant motion (four days on board), another force started working on his body. He felt an uneasiness come over him in waves, and for twenty or so seconds he would feel as if he needed to crawl out of his skin. Then it would pass and leave him feeling a little numb for a few seconds, only to start up again. Poynter and Poe were moving around the small cabin looking at different gobs and bumps of bioluminescence as if they were gleaning some meaning from them, but, try as he might, Nate couldn't figure out what they were monitoring. It would have helped to be able to get out of the seat and take a closer look, but Poynter had ordered him strapped in after he made his first break for the back orifice. He'd nearly made it, too. Had dived at it just like he'd seen the whaley boys do, except that only one arm had gone through, and he ended up stuck to the floor of the whale, his face against the rubbery skin, his hand trailing out in the cold ocean. â€Å"Well, that was phenomenally stupid,† said Poynter. â€Å"I think I've dislocated my shoulder,† Nate said. â€Å"I should leave you there. Maybe a remora or two will latch on to your hand and teach you a lesson.† â€Å"Or a cookie-cutter shark,† said Poe. â€Å"Nasty bastards.† The whaley boys turned in their seats and snickered, bobbing their heads and blowing the occasional raspberry, which could inflict considerable moisture off a four-inch-wide tongue. Evidently Quinn was a cetacean laugh riot. He'd always suspected that, actually. Poynter got down on his hands and knees and looked Nate in the eye. â€Å"While you're down there, I'd like you to think on what might have happened if you'd been successful at launching yourself through that orifice. First, we're at – Skippy, what's the depth?† Skippy chirped and clicked a number of times. â€Å"A hundred and fifty feet. Beyond the fact that you'd probably have blown out your eardrums almost immediately, you might think on how you were going to get to the surface on one breath of air. And should you have gotten to the surface, what were you going to do then? We're five hundred miles from the nearest land.† â€Å"I hadn't worked out the whole plan,† Nate said. â€Å"So, actually, I might be looking at success, right? You just wanted to test the outside water temperature?† â€Å"Sure,† said Nate, thinking it might be best to stay agreeable. â€Å"Can you feel your hand?† â€Å"It's a little chilly, but, yes.† â€Å"Oh, good.† And so they'd left him there a couple of hours, his hand and about six inches of his arm hanging out in the open sea as the whale ship swam along, and when they finally pulled him up, they put him in his seat and kept him restrained except to eat and go to the bathroom. He'd tried to relax and observe – learn what he could – but then a few minutes ago these waves of uneasiness had started hitting him. â€Å"He's got the sonic willies,† said Poe. Poynter looked away from Skippy's console. â€Å"It's the subsonics, Doc. You're feeling the sound waves even though you can't hear them. We've been communicating with the blue for about ten minutes now.† â€Å"You might have said something.† â€Å"I just did.† â€Å"Couple of hours you'll be in the blue, Doc. You can stand up again, walk around a little. Have some privacy.† â€Å"So you're communicating with it in low-frequency sound?† â€Å"Yep. Just like you thought, Doc, there was meaning in the call.† â€Å"Yeah, but I didn't think this, that there were guys, and guylike things, riding about inside whales. How in the hell can this be happening? How can I not know about this?† â€Å"So you're giving up on the being-dead strategy?† asked Poe. â€Å"What is it? Space aliens?† Poynter unbuttoned his shirt and showed some chest hair. â€Å"Do I look like a space alien?† â€Å"Well, no, but them.† Nate nodded toward the whaley boys. They looked at each other and snickered, a sort of wheezing laughter coming from their blowholes, paused, looked back at Nate, then snickered some more. â€Å"Maybe on their planet sentient life evolved from whales rather than apes,† Quinn continued. â€Å"I can see how they might have landed here, deployed these whale ships, and kept under the radar of human detection while they looked around. I mean, man obviously isn't the most peaceful of creatures.† â€Å"That work for you, Doc?† asked Poynter. â€Å"On their planet they developed an organically based technology, rather than one based on combustion and manipulation of minerals like ours.† â€Å"Oh, that is good,† said Poe. â€Å"He's on a roll,† said Poynter. â€Å"Unraveling the mystery, he is.† Skippy and Scooter nodded to each other and grinned. â€Å"So that's it? This ship is extraterrestrial?† Quinn felt the small victory rush that one gets from proving a hypothesis – even one as bizarre as space aliens riding in whale ships. â€Å"Sure,† said Poe, â€Å"that works for me. You, Cap?† â€Å"Yeah, moon men, that's what you guys are,† Poynter said to the whaley boys. â€Å"Meep,† said Scooter. And in a high, squeaky, little-girl voice, Skippy croaked, â€Å"Phone home.† The whaley boys gave each other a high four and collapsed into fits of hysterical wheezing. â€Å"What did he say?† Nate nearly snapped his neck trying to turn around against the restraints. â€Å"They can talk?† â€Å"Well, I guess, if you call that talking,† Poe said. He exchanged high fives with Poynter at the expense of the whaley boys, who paused in their own laughter to roll the whale ship in three quick spirals, which tossed the unsecured Poe and Poynter around the soft cabin like a couple of rag dolls. Poynter came up with a bloody lip from connecting with his own knee. Poe had barked his shin on one of the whaley boys' heads as he went over. Strapped in, Nate concentrated on not watching a rerun of his lunch of raw tuna and water. â€Å"Bastards!† said Poe. â€Å"That what you expected in your race of super-intelligent, space-faring extraterrestrials, Nate?† Poynter wiped blood from his lower lip and flung it at Scooter. Carl Linnaeus, an eighteenth-century Swedish doctor who specialized in the treatment of syphilis, is credited with inventing the modern system that is used for classifying plants and animals. Linnaeus is responsible for naming the humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae, or â€Å"big wings of New England,† and later naming the blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, or â€Å"little mouse†: at 110 feet long, over a hundred tons, an animal whose tongue alone is larger than a full-grown African elephant – the largest animal to ever live on the planet. â€Å"Little mouse†? Some speculated that this ironic misnomer was perpetrated entirely to confuse Linnaeus's lab assistants, as in Run out and bring me back a â€Å"little mouse,† Sven. Others think that the pox had gone to Carl's head. Quinn was crouched over the back orifice, Skippy and Scooter holding him by either arm, Poynter and Poe crouched before him, saluting. He could feel the texture of the opening under his bare feet, like wet tire tread. â€Å"It's been a pleasure, Doc,† Poynter said. â€Å"Have a great trip.† â€Å"We'll see you back at base,† said Poe. â€Å"Now, just relax. You're barely going to contact water. Hold your nose and blow.† Quinn did. Poynter counted, â€Å"One, two –  » â€Å"Meep.† Nate was sucked out the orifice, felt a brief chill and some pressure pushing back against his ears, and found himself in a chamber only a little taller than that in the humpback, with a fairly amused woman. â€Å"You can stop blowing now,† she said. â€Å"Yet another phrase I didn't think I'd be hearing in this lifetime,† Nate said. He let go of his nostrils and took a deep breath. The air seemed fresher than in the humpback. â€Å"Welcome to my blue, Dr. Quinn, I'm Cielle Nu;ez. How do you feel?† â€Å"Pooped.† Quinn grinned. She was about his age, Hispanic with short dark hair peppered gray and wide brown eyes that caught the bioluminescence off the walls and reflected what looked like laughter. She was barefoot and wearing generic khakis like Poynter and Poe. He shook her hand. â€Å"Cute,† she said. â€Å"Come forward with me, Doctor. I'm sure it's been a while since you were able to stand up straight.† She led him down the corridor, which reminded Nate of when, as kids, he and his buddies had explored storm drains in Vancouver. It was tall enough to walk in, but not tall enough to stand in comfortably. â€Å"Actually, Cielle, I'm not a doctor. I have a Ph.D., but the doctor thing –  » â€Å"I understand. I'm captain of this rig, but if you call me ‘Captain, I'll ignore you.† â€Å"I wanted to hear the humpback sing before I left. You know, from the inside.† â€Å"You will. There'll be time.† The corridor started to widen as they moved forward, and Nate was actually able to walk normally, or as normally as one can walk when barefoot on whaleskin. This skin had a mottled appearance, whereas on the humpback it had been nearly solid gray. He noticed that on this ship there were wide veins of bioluminescence on the floor, casting a yellow light up upward that gave everything a sinister green glow. Nuà ±ez paused by what appeared to be portals on either side of them. â€Å"This is as good a place as any,† she said. â€Å"Now, turn sideways and take my hand.† Quinn did as he was asked. Her hand felt warm but dry. She was a small woman, but powerfully built, he could feel the strength in her grip. â€Å"Now, we're just going to walk as the ship moves. Don't stop until I say, or you'll fall on your ass.† â€Å"WHAT?† â€Å"Okay, Scooter, roll it.† â€Å"Scooter?† â€Å"All pilots are called Scooter or Skippy. They didn't tell you?† â€Å"They weren't very forthcoming with information.† â€Å"Humpback crews are a bunch of yahoos.† Nuà ±ez smiled. â€Å"You know the type, like navy fighter pilots topside? All ego and testosterone.† â€Å"I got more cretin than yahoo,† Nate said. â€Å"Well, with that particular bunch, yes.† The whole corridor started to move. â€Å"Here we go, step, step, step, that's good.† They were walking across the walls as the ship rolled. When they were standing on the ceiling, the roll stopped. â€Å"Nice, Scooter,† Nuà ±ez said, obviously communicating through some sort of hidden intercom. Then, to Nate, â€Å"He's so good.† â€Å"We were upside down to make the transfer?† â€Å"Exactly. You're a smart guy. Look, these are cabins. She touched a lighted node on the wall, and a skin portal folded back on itself. Again Nate was put in mind of the blowhole of a toothed whale, but it was so big, nearly four feet across, it was just†¦ unnatural. Lines of light pumped to life past the portal to reveal a small cabin, a bed – apparently made of the same skin as the rest of the interior – but also a table and a chair. Nate couldn't make out what material they might be made of, but it looked like plastic. â€Å"Bone,† Nu;ez said, noticing him noticing. â€Å"They're as much a part of the ship as the walls. All living tissue. There are shelves and cubbyholes for your stuff in the bulkheads, closed now. Obviously everything has to be stowed for little maneuvers like the one we just performed. The motion isn't as bad as on the humpbacks. You'll find you'll get used to it, and then you can move about just as if you were on land.† â€Å"You're right. I didn't even notice we were moving.† â€Å"That would be because we're not,† said Nu;ez. The sound of whaley-boy snickering wheezed down the corridor toward them. â€Å"You guys are supposed to be working,† Nu;ez said to the air. â€Å"Prepare to get under way.† She turned to Quinn. â€Å"Can I buy you a cup of joe? Maybe answer some of your questions?† â€Å"You're offering?† Quinn felt his heart jump with excitement. Information, without Poynter and Poe's goofing obfuscation? He was thrilled. â€Å"That would be fantastic.† â€Å"Don't pee all over yourself, Quinn. It's just coffee.† The corridor opened up into a large bridge. The head of the blue was huge compared to the humpback's. On either side of the entry a whaley boy stood grinning at them as they passed. They were both taller than Quinn, and unlike the Scooter and Skippy of the humpback, their skin was mottled and lighter in color. Nate paused and grinned back at them. â€Å"Let me guess – Skippy and Scooter?† â€Å"Actually, Bernard and Emily 7,† said Nu;ez. â€Å"You said they all were –  » â€Å"I said all pilots were named Skippy and Scooter.† She gestured to the front of the bridge, where two whaley boys sitting at control consoles were turning in their seats and grinning. Maybe, thought Nate, they always appeared to be grinning, much like dolphins. He'd made an amateur mistake, assuming that their facial expressions were the analog of human expressions. People often did that with dolphins, even though the animals had no facial muscles to facilitate expression. Even sad dolphins appeared to be smiling. â€Å"What are you two grinning at?† asked Nuà ±ez. â€Å"Let's get on the way.† The pilots frowned and turned back to their consoles. â€Å"Well, crap,† Nate said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Nothing, just another theory shot in the ass.† â€Å"Yeah, this operation does that, doesn't it?† Nate felt something stirring in his back pocket and spun around to see a thin, fourteen-inch-long pink penis that was protruding from Bernard's genital slit. It waved at him. â€Å"Holy moly!† â€Å"Bernard!† Nuà ±ez snapped. â€Å"Put that away. That is not procedure.† Bernard's unit drooped noticeably from the scolding. He looked at it and chirped contritely. â€Å"Away!† Nuà ±ez barked. Bernard's willy snapped back up into his genital slit. â€Å"Sorry about that,† Nuà ±ez said to Nate. â€Å"I've never gotten used to that. It's really disconcerting when you're working with one of them and you ask them to hand you a screwdriver or something and his hands are already full. Coffee?† She led him to a small white table around which four bone chairs protruded from the floor. They looked like old-style Greek saddle chairs – no backs, organic curves, and the high gloss of living bone – but more Gaudi than Flintstone. Quinn sat while Nuà ±ez touched a node on the wall that opened a meter-wide portal that had concealed a sink, several canisters, and what looked like a percolator. Nate wondered about the electricity but forced himself to wait before asking. While Nuà ±ez prepared the coffee, Quinn looked around. The bridge was easily four times the size of the entire cabin in the humpback. Instead of riding in a minivan, it was like being in a good-size motor home – a very curvy, dimly lit motor home, but about that size. Blue light filtered in through the eyes, illuminating the pilots' faces, which shone like patent leather. Nate was starting to realize that even though everything was organic, living, the whale ship had the same sort of efficiency found on any nautical vessel: every spaced used, everything stowed against movement, everything functional. â€Å"If you need to use the head, it's back down the corridor, fourth hatch on the right.† Emily 7 clicked and squealed, and Nu;ez laughed. She had a warm laugh, not forced; it just rolled out of her smooth and easy. â€Å"Emily says it seems as if it would be more logical for the head to be in the head, but there goes logic.† â€Å"I gave up logic a few days ago.† â€Å"You don't have to give it up, just adjust. Anyway, facilities in the head are like everything on the ship – living – but I think you'll figure out the analogs pretty quickly. It's less complicated than an airliner bathroom.† Scooter chirped, and the great ship started to move, first in a fairly radical wave of motion, then smoothing out to a gentle roll. It was like being on a large sailing ship in medium seas. â€Å"Hey, a little more warning, Scooter, huh?† said Nu;ez. â€Å"I nearly dumped Nathan's coffee. Okay if I call you Nathan?† â€Å"Nate's good.† Moving with the roll of the ship, she made it back to the table and put down the two steaming mugs of coffee, then went back for a sugar bowl, spoons, and a can of condensed milk. Nate picked up the can and studied it. â€Å"This is the first thing from the outside that I've seen.† â€Å"Yeah, well, that's special request. You don't want to try whale milk in your coffee. It's like krill-flavored spray cheese.† â€Å"Yuck.† â€Å"That's what I'm saying.† â€Å"Cielle, if you don't mind my saying, you don't seem very military.† â€Å"Me? No, I wasn't. My husband and I had a sixty-foot sailboat. We got caught in a hurricane off of Costa Rica and sank. That's when they took me. My husband didn't make it.† â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"It's okay. It was a long time ago. But, no, I've never been in the military.† â€Å"But the way you order the whaley boys around –  » â€Å"First, we need to clear up a misconception that you are obviously forming, Nate. I – we, the human beings on these ships – are not in charge. We're just – I don't know, like ambassadors or something. We sound like commanders because these guys would just goof off all day without someone telling them what to do, but we have no real authority. The Colonel gives the orders, and the whaley boys run the show.† Scooter and Skippy snickered like their counterparts on the humpback ship, Bernard and Emily 7 joined them – Bernard extending his prehensile willy like a party horn. â€Å"And whaley girls?† Nate nodded toward Emily 7, who grinned – it was a very big, very toothy grin, but a little coquettish in the way one might expect from, say, an ingenue with a bite that could sever an arm. â€Å"Just whaley boys. It's like the term ‘mankind, you know – alienate the female part of the race at all costs. It's the same here. Old-timers gave them the name.† â€Å"Who's the Colonel?† â€Å"He's in charge. We don't see him.† â€Å"Human, though?† â€Å"I'm told.† â€Å"You said you'd been here a long time. How long?† â€Å"Let me get you another cup, and I'll tell you what I can.† She turned. â€Å"Bernard, get that thing out of the coffeepot!†

India Fashion

TABLE OF CONTENTS| | | Page| -| INTRODUCTION – India’s â€Å"design† leap forward? | 3| 1| INDIA’S UNIQUE ECONOMY – AN OVERVIEW| 4| 2| FACETS OF THE INDIAN ECONOMY| | 2. 1| India in the last decade| | 2. 2| Infrastructure| | 2. 3| Bureaucracy and Corruption| | 2. 4| Import tariffs| | 2. 5| Engineering skills| | 2. 6| Entrepreneurship| | 2. 7| Trade imbalances and inflation| | 2. 8| Indian Political scene| | 2. 9| People| | 3| THE PATH FORWARD| | 4| INDIA’S FASHION INDUSTRY – TRULY GLOBALIZED? | | 4. 1| The Fashion Industry| | 4. 2| The Indian Fashion Industry| | 4. 2. 1| Factors driving growth| | . 2. 2| Local and Foreign players| | 4. 2. 3| Fashion design industry – an example of India’s design future| | 5| | | 5. 1| | | 5. 2| | | 5. 3| | | 5. 4| | | 5. 5| | | -| APPENDIX| | | | | INTRODUCTION India's ‘design' leap forward? Abstract India has always been a unique country and this is especially true of how its econo my has developed. Rather than aggressively pushing for export growth or attracting foreign direct investment like China and most others in Asia, India’s unique setting, resources and boundaries led it to develop the service sector instead. Was this an ‘accidental’ development or a purposeful push by the government? If purposeful in nature, what drove the Indian government to take such an approach? In fact, what are the key drivers (or should be the key drivers) on a macro-economic level that determine a country’s developing path? In our paper, we would like to explore three areas specifically: The Indian government and its policy making, given infrastructure and institutions and finally India’s political base to see if a conclusion can be made with regards to its economic development. With this macro environment understanding in place, we would then like to look from a micro-economic level and analyze how businesses can succeed within the India service industry given this framework. The latter question will be answered while evaluating the rapidly growing Indian â€Å"desi† fashion industry as an example of the design future for Indian, which has become very much about focusing on the taste and preferences of locals in terms of design. Is there a way that foreign design firms might be able then compete given that the local companies are so in tuned with the local culture and tastes, not to mention cheaper? Would there be a way to educate the local consumers to adopt a ‘brand conscious’ mindset as the economy develops and the affluent community increases in size? Or will the culture remain a loyal to a ‘Made in India’ concept for the years to come and hence be a waste of time for foreign firms to try and break that mold. With this paper we will try to address these issues to draw a conclusion and recommendation on how best to approach entering this unique and challenging market. 1. INDIA’S UNIQUE ECONOMY – AN OVERVIEW India, with 1. 189 billion people (July 2011), is the second largest country behind China. Though only 30% of the total population is living in cities, the urbanization is taking place at 2. 4% per annum. Only 6% of the population is above 60 years. However, due to longer life expectancy at birth of 66. 8 years (2011), this segment is constantly growing. The population below 15 years remains relatively constant because on average every Indian woman is giving birth to 2. 6 children but with an infant mortality rate of 5%. It is important to mention that the working population age 15 to 59 will increase dramatically in the next five years from 720 to 800 million, seeking jobs and enlarging the economy. The government is spending 3. 1% of GDP on education in order to increase literacy rate (only 61% of Indians above the age of 15 can read and write) in order to prepare a young workforce to enter the labour market [Data based on CIA fact book 2011]. India and China were the biggest economies until approximately 200 years ago because they had the biggest populations and size was a dominant factor in economic output. Once the industrial revolution commenced in England in 1800s, followed by the information revolution in the late twentieth-century, mere size mattered less. First the Europeans, and then the Americans leveraged technology to increase GDP in absolute terms and on a per capita basis. Now, India and China are developing fast, and are moving up in the world in GDP terms. In 2010, India’s GDP in purchase parity was $3. 92 trillion and listed as fourth-largest economy in the world after the US, China and Japan. . FACETS OF THE INDIAN ECONOMY 2. 1India in the last decade It is interesting to note that while services now make up more than 50% of the GDP of India, it wasn’t that long ago that India was also embarking on the conventional path towards an advance economy through the typical agriculture to manufacturing route. After all, Japan, then Taiwan and South Korea, and now China have demonstrated that manufacturing can accelerate development because its output can be exporte d to rich countries. However, in India’s case, while export and trade rules were relatively lax at the time, the domestic market was one where there were massive protectionism laws in place, so much so it became known as a ‘license raj’. At that point in time, India had just gained independence and eager to boost export growth while still protecting local industries and expertise. The reality was however, that this strategy was a failure and led to a much slower growth rate than its neighbour leading it soon to a brink of bankruptcy in 1991, despite the ‘Green revolution’ and massive growth of its agricultural segment. Looking back however, this phase might have actually ‘saved’ India and probably served as the platform where India’s true growth began. The Prime Minister then Narashimha Rao and Finance Minister Mammohan Singh, with fresh money from the IMF and conditions of the loan, engineered sweeping economic reforms throughout India which included steps to remove the ‘license raj’ that it had became. In tandem with this, tariffs were reduced along with interest rates. Many public monopolies were also removed, markets were opening up and automatic approvals for foreign investment were granted into many areas (but not all). The results from these reforms have been impactful. As mentioned in the earlier section, India is now the 4th largest economy by purchasing power parity and has been experiencing an average GDP growth rate of 8. 5% since 2005, making it second only to China in terms of growing economies. Additionally, despite the global economic slowdown, for FY11, India is still expected to achieve at least 7. 5% growth for its GDP. This is partially due to the fact that its domestic consumption is extremely strong and this helps to insulate it from external shocks. Looking a bit closer at the GDP split, one would find that services now make up the bulk of it, accounting for 56% of the GDP while the industrial and agricultural sectors represent 29% and 15% respectively as of 2010, a sharp turnaround for India when compared to the 1970s where agriculture used to be the shining star of growth, contributing close to 42% of the overall GDP. In addition, the contribution from the industry sector only increased from 21% to 29% during the last 40 years, which is very unimpressive when compared to the services sector. Source: Worldbank With the various reforms also comes increased foreign investment into the country. This has amounted to some 178 billion USD between 2000 and 2010, a massive jump from 1991 where it was only averaging USD $200 million per year before in FDIs. Among some of India’s key investors include Mauritius, Singapore and USA which rank 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively, with interests in such investment obviously gaining ground given India’s significant potential and prospects of high profitability. As discussed above, the strong domestic consumption has led to a lot of overseas investment into the country and the government has been doing its share to promote such FDIs, through the continued removal of investment caps across all the industries. There still remain an unfinished agenda of permitting greater FDI in politically sensitive areas such as insurance and retailing, though at least for retailing, some steps have recently been taken to open this market. A deep dive into where this foreign investment is going also reveals, not surprisingly, that a substantial amount or about 23% of total FDI equity goes into the services sector, followed then by the IT and telecommunication segments. 2. 2Infrastructure An important element to take note of is that India’s economic growth stands on a weak foundation as highways, bridges and airports are not up to international standards. Average speed on highways is only 20 miles per hour due to road congestions and generally its roads are of poor quality. Economic losses resulting from such poor infrastructure are estimated to be $6 billion per year according to the Federal Planning Commission. In India, highways or expressways constitute only about 67,000 km and while this makes up only 2% of all roads, they carry 40% of the road traffic! The government has been trying to resolve this by setting up a multiple stage National Highway Development Project (NHDP) with its signature project â€Å"Golden Quadrilateral†. The goal of this project is to connect the most populous cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai. This has been partly completed in 2011 cutting the travel time on the 1335km route from Chennai to Mumbai from 90 hours to 48 hours (a significant 47% reduction). However, multiple check posts and mobile squads remain a source of corruption, not to mention traffic obstruction on highways and toll stations. Various entry restrictions into cities also slow down the transportation of goods. Since cargo traffic is estimated to grow by 15 – 18% annually, the Indian government is spending $78. 5 billion over the next five years and is additionally trying to attract foreign direct investments for road development projects, granting 100% income tax exemption for a period of 10 years to private investors. It is also disappointing that India’s vast railroad network of more than 60,000 km is not as effectively used for goods transportation as compared to China. One reason is a different standard of broad gauge (80%) and narrow auge (20%). The government has thankfully recognized this and is now investing $5 billion into building dedicated freight corridors in the Western and Eastern routes (Delhi – Mumbai and Delhi – Kolkata). More significantly, India has opened the freight transportation sector to competition erasing CONCOR’s previous monopoly of container movement by rail. Source: Worldbank database Power is another issue as many cities and economic zones suffer from unstable power supply along with shortages of fresh water. India is generating 122 Gigawatts of power from coal-fired plants (57%), hydro power (25%), gas (10%), nuclear power plants (3%) and 5% from renewable sources (wind, solar). There is a silver lining here though. While generation, transmission and distribution is in the hands of public sector companies or state electricity boards, the private sector companies and international players are increasingly investing in India’s energy sector (for example Tata Power has a capacity of 2,203 MW, China Light ; Power provides 655 MW). Unfortunately, despite these investments, there is still a large demand / supply gap of 7 to 12% according to Indian investment commission. It is also precisely because of its weak infrastructure that some foreign companies choose other countries in South East Asia, for example Thailand or Vietnam to set-up manufacturing sites. 2. 3Bureaucracy and Corruption Despite India’s best efforts to remove its ‘licence raj’ stigma, there still exists a fair amount of bureaucracy. The Indian Times summed it up aptly with an article it ran on 3rd June 2009, titled: India’s ‘suffocating bureaucracy’ worst in Asia! A survey by the Hong-Kong based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) compared 12 Asian nations towards business friendliness.. Source: World Bank â€Å"Doing Business† Publication In the abovementioned article, 1,274 expatriates working in the 12 leading Asian nations found Singapore, Hong-Kong and Thailand to be the most efficient countries followed by South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Philippines and Indonesia. India came in last with its bureaucracy described as â€Å"suffocating† and interaction with civil servants perceived as a â€Å"slow and painful process†. This is a serious issue not just for its reputation to the outside world, but also domestically. According to World Bank figures, India ranks among the world's worst countries at encouraging entrepreneurs. India is ranked a lowly 166th out of 183 countries in terms of ease of starting a business and second last with regards to enforcing contracts. In addition to bureaucracy, India also suffers from an alarmingly high level of corruption. The 2011 Li-Na report reveals the following: Other organizations like Transparency International ranked India 73 out of the 102 countries in its Corruption Perception Index (2008) and the World Economic Forum positions India 44th amongst 49 countries surveyed. Over the past two decades since the end of the â€Å"license raj† in the 1990s, the Indian economy has gradually opened up along with the government’s relaxation on its tightly controlled policies. On the contrary, corruption in turn has become standard in most business processes. One would find the formal route of setting up a business extremely difficult in India and it is only through bribery that various processes can move or speed up. 2. 4Import Tariffs Despite steadily opening up its economy, India has however maintained high import tariffs, especially when compared with other countries. Before the 1990s, average tariffs exceeded 200% and quantitative restrictions on imports were extensive. Post 1990, India has been taking steps to cautiously reform tariffs and focus only on goods and services of highest necessity. This has resulted in India’s trade to GDP ratio increasing from 15% to 35% between 1990 and 2005 according to World Bank. Non-agricultural tariffs have fallen below 15% and quantitative restrictions on imports have been eliminated. However, that does not mean India is a completely free market as the government has maintained a degree of economic protectionism. For instance, agricultural tariffs remain between 30-40% and anti-dumping measures have been used to protect trade. There have also been numerous requests by the US to the Indian Ministry of Commerce to reduce tariffs on industrial goods, especially in key segments like commercial air lines. On the other hand, India has recently been pushing for a more liberal global trade regime, especially in services where it is strongest in. So India must find some way to reconcile the 2 issues here. 2. 5Engineering skills In 2008 approximately 350. 000 students graduated from college holding an engineering degree, 23,000 with a Masters degree in engineering and only 1,000 students were awarded with a PhD degree. These figures were estimates by Rangan Banerjee and Vinayak Purushottam Muley, both employed by the IIT in Bombay. The number of engineering graduates has been growing significantly over the last years and is now larger than in America. However quantity does not mean quality. According to a survey of local companies, only 4% of Indian’s engineers are immediately fit to work for software firms and only 18% are employable in the IT sector (McKinsey’s survey of international firms: 25% of graduates pass IT industry-specific requirements). Hiring companies need to put a lot of emphasis on training on the job in order to bring Indian engineers up to mark. 2. 6Entrepreneurship Author Raghav Bahl argues in his book â€Å"Super Power? † that the Indian entrepreneurship trumps the Chinese due to more private ownership, intense competition and high productivity in India. In his book he describes an interview with George Soros in December 2006, asking him about India’s competitive advantage over China. â€Å"Entrepreneurship! † was the answer. According to Soros, India had already brought up companies with world-class reputation (Tata, Infosys) which is something China lacks. According to the author â€Å"entrepreneurship is embedded in Indian genes† and he points to the communication industry which was liberalized approximately 15 years ago. Since then the number of TV channels and newspapers have exploded and the telecom industry has now 500 million customers and is adding 15 million per month under extreme competitive conditions. The tough competitive environment demands for high productivity. Since the private sector in India is footed on common law, entrepreneurs can act in a legal thus predictable framework without fearing expropriation. The result is that Indian’s private sector is booming and is only facing hindrances of the states bureaucracy and poor infrastructure. China, with its massive population, does have its fair share of entrepreneurs of course, but the business environment in China is even more challenging as compared to India. In China, the state and the numerous state-owned enterprises with their easy credit access, are the biggest enemies to the private sector. According to Marshall Meyer (Wharton Business School) â€Å"the government will always remain in control of the 100 largest firms in China†. The tight control limits competition and the drive towards higher productivity. 2. 7Trade imbalance and inflation Trade imbalance has always been a sore point for India where it has always suffered a trade deficit. Part of this can be explained by the strength of the domestic market and hence the reliance of the GDP growth on it. This trade deficit has however increased significantly over the years and currently stands at some USD $16 billion as of August 2011. Together with this, annual Inflation has also increased significantly and is currently standing at close to 10% in 2011, way above the generally acceptable levels of 6%. This rise in inflation is despite the India Central bank’s efforts to contain this through multiple interest rate hikes. However, India’s inflation is caused more by structural factors in the economy, including some discussed above like poor infrastructure, lack of skilled workers and low productivity in agriculture – which will require major policy reforms to tackle, rather than simply increasing interest rate. All these factors combined can pose a significant challenge for India moving forward. Inflation does not just affect the cost of goods for the domestic market and hence affordability. It also affects the strength of the Rupee, India’s national currency. The strength of the rupee has been steadily decreasing over the years compared against the dollar and this in the long term would affect India’s competitiveness. Granted, India is still very much a consumption led market. When compared with many Asian emerging economies, this advantage has narrowed down over the years, especially given the fact that India now imports almost two thirds of its oil requirements from overseas markets. Additionally, while the overseas debt has gone up to $306 billion at the end of March 2011 from $221 billion at the end of March 2008, the cushion of foreign exchange reserves was stable and decreased slightly to $305 billion from $310 billion over the same period, which is a worrying trend. The main reason why internal public debt has increased in India during in the last decades was the requirement of funds to finance various developmental programmes as both tax and non-tax revenues were totally inadequate to finance the government expenditure. The external public debt in India Increased significantly during 1961-2004 as it was utilized to make import payments and solve balance of payment problems. The tremendous rise in total public debt in India during 1991-2004 provides an alarming signal to Indian economy. 2. 8Indian Political scene India’s political scene has always been an interesting one. It is the world’s largest democracy where literally everyone has a voice and this has on more than one occasion, resulted in slow and costly decision making. While there is a central government in place comprising of the standard hierarchy of politicians and parliament, the states themselves also have their own legislative environment, which differ greatly from one another due to the significant autonomy that they continue to enjoy. In terms of political parties, there are 2 main coalitions: The Indian National Congress (current ruling party) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As such, it is unfortunate to note that while Indian National Congress has a majority in the current ruling government and even control some state assemblies, it has failed since to implement any significant reform programs. This is in part due to the complex nature of the Indian political scene, but more important than that is the amount of time and energy spent to manage several high profile corruption cases, the most significant of which (as discussed above) was for the 2010 Commonwealth games and the auctioning of the 2G wireless spectrum. As such, while India has built up a profile of being a hot bed for FDI, this volatile political scene has also detracted some countries like the UAE from investing as well. 2. 9People As a last part of India’s growth story, we also thought it be interesting to explore if the lives have improved over the years as well. After all, a key part of growth is to ensure the people’s standard of living goes up. There are bright spots of course. Gross income per capita has experienced astonishing growth, reaching USD $,219 in 2010, up from close to USD $400 back in 2000, in line with the growth of India to some extent. This represents almost 14% growth on average over the last 10 years. However, such massive growth is not without its problems. The middle class has exploded within India, reaching 32% of the overall population in 2010, and while the service segment has boomed, it only accounts for 20% of total employment in India. Majority of the people are still farmers by trade, working within the agriculture segment that is protected within India but now only accounts for 15% of its overall GDP. In addition, according to the registrar of India, the number of young adults aged between 15 and 50 years will reach 800 million by 2016. This means that the number of people entering the workforce will shoot up dramatically over the next few years. The question then is where are the new jobs going to come from? It is not a realistic expectation for the service segment to dramatically increase employment by another 20 points and the manufacturing segment isn’t growing fast enough to contain this population, which in China has taken on the main bulk of the employment. . THE PATH FORWARD As per the introduction, this paper will attempt to argue that India should look to develop another industry – the Design industry. Why such a specialized segment? What is critical for both India and its MNCs is the ability to build a global brand. There are 2 typical routes taken by companies to establish themselves are as shown below: Route A is the more conservative approach where a co mpany looks to develop a consistent revenue stream before embarking on its own brand. Route B, while more risky, brings much faster rewards should one be successful as seen from the likes of HTC and Giordano. The profits reaped however are quite significantly different. Just simply becoming an ODM, yields a 6% increase in terms of margin when compared to just being a simple OEM, primarily because of the additional value one can bring. Requires market and technology competencies Becoming a design hub would also enable India to grow its manufacturing segment at a much faster pace. India has the potential to become a complete solution provider – it is already strong in consultancy and services not to mention a big pool of engineers and scientists, and it has a lot of land available to set up manufacturing plants. Plus it has a large and still relatively low cost labour market. Hence, domestic players who are strong in the services piece can build up its manufacturing capabilities quite easily to up the ante. International firms who already have plants in India, can tap onto the big brain pool and potentially bring lots more R&D investment into India. So in terms of helping India grow both from a brand and FDI perspective, we felt that becoming a design hub is key. Additionally, design is really the driver of profits as it is the key differentiator for a lot of products, which in turn lead to higher price points and consumer willingness to pay. Apple and its iPhone is the perfect example of this. The great part about all this is that design innovation can cross all industries from automotive to design to FMCGs etc, which also means it is not a niche segment that will fizzle out after a period of time. The question is what should India do to develop this segment quickly and effectively, and the rest of the paper will be devoted to that using fashion as a case for analysis. 4. INDIA’S FASHION INDUSTRY – TRULY GLOBALISED? 4. 1The Fashion Industry The world’s fashion industry was born together with modernisation, even though fashion has been in existence for more than five thousand years. And with industrialisation, continuous technological advancements and global capitalisation from the 20th century onwards, the fashion industry has contributed to a significant share of the world’s output. A study on emerging fashion markets showed that India, amongst countries like South Africa, the UAE, Singapore, Russia and Brazil had emerged as a new and unique player in this global industry since year 2000. In many of these countries, one of the key growth drivers identified was actually government support. Others mentioned are factors such increased awareness of international brands and higher demand for fashion as countries globalised (Grial Research Sep 2009). For India, the government had not played any key role in its emergence in the fashion industry. We would want to explore what the key drivers are, and how they can be used to plot Indian fashion on the global success map. In Asia, China is the biggest apparel and fashion market with domestic clothing sales worth US$33. 1 billion in year 2008 (Price Waterhouse Coopers report). As the Chinese are relatively more brand conscious than most Asians, the high-end fashion market is actually dominated by key brand names of US, Europe, Japan and Korea in China. As for India, it is the third largest in apparel market after China and Japan ($31. 8 billion – Willy Barker. com) with US$5. 8 billion (PWC report). Refer to Chart A. With experts looking to the fashion industry in Asia for good growth potential, China and India are expected to have double-digit growth in sales in the next two years. 4. 2The Indian Fashion Industry In a McKinsey report on India’s fast-growing apparel market, India’s apparel sales was expected to reach an estimated US$25 billion by end of year 2010 (McKinsey Jun 2010). In fact, apparel is the second largest retail category (behind food and groceries), and this growth of double digits showed that the great potential of this industry will continue to see strong and positive expansionistic opportunities. With that we do expect to see faster growth in the Indian fashion industry. How true is that? In order to know whether it can be true, we will need to understand the underlying factors, key drivers and perhaps the ways of overcoming constraints of this industry. In addition, it is important to look from inside out as well as outside in and explore whether Indian fashion can be truly globalised and whether foreign industry players stand a chance in penetrating the Indian market. All in all, with potential growth in Indian fashion design, it will push its manufacturing requirements, and truly globalize Indian fashion as well as setting pace and example in an important industry for India to carry through from design innovation throughout all industries, just like fashion design is trying to do. . 2. 1Factors driving growth Indeed there are several key drivers which drove, and most of these will probably continue to drive the local domestic fashion industry to greater heights. These can be grouped into 3 key areas; mainly the increasing disposable income of Indians with economic growth driving GDP per capita from US$329 in 1991 (Wiki) to an expected US$2,110 by year 2016 (refer to Chart B); 1991 2016 2010 Indian youth’s behaviours and exp ectations of fashion; as well as Indian-Western fusion and influence. These are definitely interrelated and formed a powerful driving force which will continue to shape the Indian fashion industry, as well as how Indian fashion can be truly globalized. Figure A on the main growth drivers for Indian fashion industry Real average household disposable income in India has more than doubled since 20 years ago by about US$2,000 per household (Earthpulse). In addition, the middle class portion is expected to continue a significant growth rate and this will create a robust consumer market internally in India. With stronger purchasing power, fashion products will definitely see faster growth as such goods have been proven to be demanded as people become richer. Latest figures (refer to Chart C) show that comparing year 2007 through to year 2010, India’s gross and disposable income has grown by almost 50%, and with this comes prospering urban consumer lifestyle which push for stronger demand for fashion, given more social opportunities as Indians evolved to have richer tastes and improved social and work lives. At 29% of population residing in cities, India has one of the lowest urbanisation rates in the world (McKinsey report), and this shows the potential upward growth as Indians continue to stream into the urbanised cities to work and live, and with that will continue to demand strongly for new styles and fashions in order to stay relevant to the rest of the more developed societies, which is part and parcel of urbanization and changing cultures in growing ad developing countries. Also, with higher disposable income, it pushes more businesses, both foreign and local enterprises to expand in hope of being first movers in many areas and aspects of fashion such that they will be the preferred brands or choices as Indians grow richer by the day. As such, larger shopping malls are opening and many are focussing on apparels and other fashionable items. In addition, with the increase in the usage of credit cards with more Indians holding jobs in bigger companies, there is no doubt that this factor will continue to drive consumer demand, and definitely the fashion industry growth. The second driver is really the change in the demographics of the Indian population. With better education, younger age groups, more exposure to foreign ideas and stuff through growing internet users and all, the youthful Indian population (in comparison with aging societies of Japan and China) have refreshed the fashion and apparels market with fresh and new ideas, and as a result, even traditional costumes such as saris are modernised and being worn differently, and India has also seen many renowned designers on the international scene. Coupled with things like the launch of new programs and courses in various Indian schools, such as Indian School of Business launched â€Å"Business of Fashion: Strategic Brand Management†, there is much greater promotion of fashion and push of local designers and the industry to an international level. Rising affluence of the younger generation has also increased the brand awareness of Indian consumers, thus helping India moving closer to the Chinese standards of brand consciousness, giving rise to the vibrancy of the fashion industry. Hence, as India’s economy continues to grow stronger, and with the help of a sustainable youthful population, the Indian fashion industry can be boosted with much more international exposure and clientele, thus truly globalizing this industry to attract and promote Indian fashion products and output internationally to a greater level of competitiveness. Another important driver is really the fusion of Indian and Western tastes and perhaps some parts of culture, which has gradually influence the lives and lifestyles of Indian nationals. This can be attributed to several reasons such as the ever growing number of foreign multinational companies setting up branches and even regional headquarters in India; the â€Å"bombardment† of foreign television programs, all thanks to cable TV, as well as movies and the Internet which played a big role in educating and updating Indians of the latest global fashions and trends; many more Indians receiving education overseas as compared to previous 20 years. As a result, this mixing of the East and West has also provided a unique Indian fashion line and trend which has given foreign fashion lines a run for their money. Also, Indians themselves for opting for more Western, especially American and European styles of fashion as compared to traditional clothing, although it will still take many decades and generations to dilute the traditional Indian clothing. This fusion is essential for Indians to embrace the fast pace changes that we are seeing in the fashion industry globally, and enable them to quickly adapt and even be able to set trends for the future. 4. 2. 2Local and foreign players Being one of the oldest civilisations in the world, Indian fashion has combined tradition, culture and modernisation to become an emerging market since year 2000. Fusions of Indian and Western styles have dominated the catwalks of India’s various fashion weeks, which have become popular and saw strong demands locally and overseas. Since year 2000, India has organised an increasing number of fashion weeks, such as Delhi fashion week and Lakme India Fashion Week, which are annual events showcasing the works of the nation’s best fashion designers. This has attracted local and foreign purchasers, facilitating business opportunities as well as giving local talents the platform to globalise their designs. Lakme 13th India Fashion week which attracted many buyers both locally and abroad With recognition and the foresight of continuous strong growth, in year 2008, a group of established Indian designers founded the Fashion Foundation of India (FFI) and it aims to help all local designers and the fashion industry grow internationally. At a particular Delhi’s fashion week, about 70 out of 150 buyers came from abroad, and this numbers continues to grow as more overseas buyers recognized the popularity of Indian fashion. With the local scene doing well with their local product designs, given that more and more Indian grown companies are also moving into the fashion and apparels markets, such as ITC (Imperial Tobacco Company of India Ltd) creating Wills Lifestyle with 61 stores in 34 states, Trent, Reliance Retail, Indiabulls, etc. , the fashion and apparel sector are bound to see double digit growth for the next 5 to 10 years, and this is a boom for the apparel manufacturing industry indeed. In addition, India is attracting foreign investment in fashion as well. We see the country being a focus for Inditex, the Spanish clothing retailer which opened 25 Zara shops in year 2010 in partnership with the Tata group. Another international renowned fashion company who had made their debut in India since a few years ago opened its third store in Mumbai selling international as well as local designs which includes exclusive sari designs which sold for between USD $6,000 to $8,000 each piece, targeting at the expanding luxury market in India. Although Hermes (French) did not divulge whether their sari designers are locals, but from the design, it appeared obvious that Indian designers would definitely had played a key role. Hermes is definitely not the only company that had launched Indian collections. Other luxury brands like Tod’s (Italian) and Prada have gone into the market with the â€Å"Indian touch† of silk satin clutches, woven sandals and embroidered cotton dresses which are typically made in India! From the above, we can see that there is very strong foreign interest in Indian design and thereafter manufacturing in fashion products locally as most foreign players see the great potential of Indian consumer market given its strong growth in GDP per capita and other factors as already discussed earlier. The challenge for these global brands will be how they can translate the interest and investments into successes. One area is of course trade barriers which should see changes if the Indian government wish to liberalize this sector further. 4. 2. Fashion design industry – an example of India’s design future Confidence is for sure to be going the positive way as even the world’s leading fashion and style consultancy firm, WGSN, had set foot in India with the intention to partner with the Indian fashion industry to identify the opportunities and the process to become a global player. WGSN had planned to focus on the whole fleet which included fashion designers, m anufacturers and retailers by helping them move up the value chain to tap on more and bigger opportunities both in the local scene as well as in the global fashion design industry. As quoted in an Economist article on Indian fashion design future, it stated that â€Å"It is India's potential as a source of future design stars that attracts the foreigners†. Many foreign players are really looking for that â€Å"polished diamond†, i. e. designs or designers, which are able to combine Western cuts with India’s talent for embellishment and its famously fine textiles. However, many Indian designers also lack the organisational skills and infrastructure needed to handle large orders. But as Indian designers attract investors, their business skills will no doubt improve. And as discussed in the macro analysis earlier, there are many constraints atypical in hindering exponential growth which basically applies in impending the faster growth in the Indian fashion industry as well. These are constraints such as poor infrastructure, inflexible labour laws, even the difficulty of growing from small to big because of conservative banking systems, etc. We can see that more has to be done for the fashion design industry, which will be further elaborated in the next section of this paper. Depending on current fashion institutes, and push from Indian domestic designers such as Rina Dhaka, Anamika Khanna and Manish Arora who have gained some success in the international scene and are trying to push more for this industry through creation of associations like FFI (Fashion Foundation of India), this will still not be sufficient in growing faster unless the government re-look at their own strategies and is able to see the importance of the fashion design industry in driving both the fashion industrial and service sectors, as well as to put a name for India in international fashion arena. With this, we draw parallel to other Indian industries (IT, Healthcare, Higher-end consumables) which too can ride on design to bring about a positive and effective change in the value chain of India, and as such may bring India to the next level in climbing up the ladder of being the world’s main heavy weight in economic power in competition with China. An example which can show how many are envisioning this trend and are trying to ride on the bandwagon to perhaps have first mover’s advantage is the fact that IDEO, the world’s top design and innovation consultancy firm, has landed in India. It is pretty obvious that IDEO has recognised the potential of India and Indians being groomed to put design and innovation in their move to grow the economy exponentially All of IDEO’s work is done in consideration of the capabilities of our clients and the needs of their customers. As we iterate toward a final solution, we assess and reassess our designs. Our goal is to deliver appropriate, actionable, and tangible strategies. The result: new, innovative avenues for growth that are grounded in business viability and market desirability. Extract: IDEO’s website And it is truly what the Indian government can concentrate on, and that is to use design and innovation as key drivers in improving the performance of both the local industrial and service sectors, which will in turn improve the Indian economy tremendously and the lives of Indians with more jobs and economic stability, moving from Third World to First World country for all Indian humanity. 5. COMPARISON WITH CHINA The ancient Chinese strategist and philosopher, Sun Tze has once said â€Å"if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need to fear the result of a hundred battles†. This also applied for India in order to formula its strategy in developing the design industry. In the previous section, we have done the detailed analysis about Indian economic and the direction for its economic development direction, in this section we will discuss how should India compete in the global market. Firstly of all, we shall identify India’s main competitor in the individual industry. For the manufacturing industry, base on the market size, India’s main competitors are mainly China, Japan and Korea, which are mainly within the same geographical area. For the service industry, India’s main competitors are mainly USA, China. For the design industry, India’s main competitors are Italy, USA, China. As we can tell that, in each of the industry, China is the overall main competitor for India. Since China and India both are leaders in the emerging market countries, both are having similar competitive advantages (massive labor resource, cheap but high skill workers, high GDP growth etc), there are more and more competitions between the two. A further analysis shows that China has already made a leap in the development of its design industry. Referring to the Forbes global 2000 companies list, we can tell that there are few Indian companies in the product renovation relevant industry, the majority of the listed Indian companies are in the Banking industry, Steel Manufacturing Industry and Natural resource related Industry; however, there are many Chinese companies in the list are famous for their product innovation ; design, for example, Lenovo Group is the global leader in PC design ; manufacturing industry, ZTE is famous for its network equipment design ; innovation and TCL is famous for the electronic appliance innovation and design. In order for India to compete in the manufacturing with the leap of design industry, we think that it is reasonable for India to study how China developed its design industry, and base on the comparison, Indian may take some lesson learn from China. Chinese government recognizes the importance of design ; innovation in 1980s. Since then, the government has taking stepping in helping to develop its design industry. Basically, China takes 3 steps to develop its design industry. The first step is to establish the education system for the industry. In 1984, China setup the first design course in Hunan University, Since then, there are more any and more students graduated with major in industry design or fashion design. Till now there are nearly 10. 000 students graduated with major in industrial design from 400 colleges every year. This large talent pool provides an enhanced support for China to develop its design industry. This is also one of the major factor that many multinational design related companies are setting up its design innovation centre or R;D centre in China. The second step is to establish the design industry network across the country. China has established 34 design associations all over. There are more than 30 design festivals and nearly 50 seminars in China every year, many of these events are sponsored by the Chinese government. The government also encourage and promoting the design ; innovation by introduce country wide awards to motivate designers. For example, since 2005, the government established the honoured activities selecting â€Å"China Top Ten Outstanding Young Designers† every year. Also, since 2006, the government establish the national industrial design award â€Å"Red Star† annually. The third step is to support the Local companies and projects. The government has made plans to introduce national support to develop the fashion ; design industry by providing funding for design projects. There are also government policies to encourage design related firms to develop. Overall, China has achieved progressive result in developing its design industry. In 2009, Chinese government produced an advertisement of a international image promoting â€Å"Made in China† brand and aired on CNN Asia. This ad is deliberately made to rebuild and strengthen the â€Å"Made in China† reputation. However, it also shows that China has taking he product branding into a national level, the government may be is aiming for promote â€Å"Design in China† in the near future. 6. PATH TO VICTORY? India may take reference in Chinese government leading example in development its design industry. Base on the previous discuss, we think India should recognize the need for the country to development its design industry, at the mean time learn from its competitors and apply the strategies according to its own market needs. Referring to China’s strategies, there are four recommendations we think Indian may consider: The first recommendation is that Indian should support the design education. Although there are two global top design schools in India, however, there are not many schools offering design as a specialization. Even within the two top schools, there are reports shows that the facilities for design faculty are very limited and students do not have exposal to the international design industry. We think that Indian should recognize that in order to develop the industry, there must be enough talents available. Indian government may consider the following strategies to support the design education. 1. The government can identify several schools in each state to introduce to design course. The government should consider provide funds for the school to recruits staff either from the industry or from overseas. 2. The government should encourage the internal national design company to open branch office in India. This local operation of the overseas design company will generate the market demand for the design talents and attract more youngster to take the design related courses. 3. The government should establish international activities to provide international exposal to Indian schools and the students. The second recommendation is that India should consider establishing its design network across the country. India is also a big country; it should also consider establishing the design association in each state. We understand that for India, the local state government may have more resource and authority in local development; we recommend the central government to provide the policy to guide the local state government to encourage a close connection between design associations in each state. The third recommendation is that India should consider establishing a regional design centre. In this way, India may take the opportunity to link the work design industry with the design centre and spread to each state across the country. One city India can consider to label as the design centre is Bombay, since Bombay is named as the commercial ; entertainment capital. The fourth recommendation is that the India government should consider encouraging the local companies to develop its design and innovation strength. The government may provide the funding support for design projects. This will help the Indian companies to development a sustainable model. Price + Value In order for a business to sustain, there are basically four key factors: investment, productivity, human development and product quality. The education support in recommendation 1 will help to provide a sufficient high skill work force for the company to develop its design arm. The initial government funding will provide the investment for the company to develop the product design and innovation. The introduction of the new drive force for the product design ; innovation will contribute to the increased value in the product quality and increase the productivity. The business sustainability will also help to sustain the design industry to develop. APPENDIX for references 1) http://zeenews. india. com/news/nation/india-s-suffocating-bureaucracy-worst-in-asia-survey_536445. tml 2) http://www. li. com/attachments/EntrepreneursIndia2011. pdf 3) http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052970204479504576639233537716542. html#project%3DISTARTUP1011%26articleTabs%3Darticle 4) http://business-standard. com/india/news/us-wants-india-to-decrease-tariffsindustrial-goods/374667/ 5) http://web. worldbank. org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTR IES/SOUTHASIA 6) http://www. forbes. com/2010/10/13/india-china-entrepreneur-markets-economy-raghav-bahl-book-excerpt. html 7) http://www. li. com/attachments/EntrepreneursIndia2011. pdf 8) http://en. wikipedia. org/ ) Grail research on Global Fashion Industry – Growth in Emerging Markets (Sep 2009) 10) http://www. merinews. com/ – Article on Indian fashion industry becomes global (2nd Mar 2008) 11) McKinsey ; Company reports a. India’s fast-growing apparel market (Jun 2010) b. Made in India – The next big manufacturing export story 12) http://blogs. wsj. com/indiarealtime/2011/10/12/hermes-goes-local-with-india-sari-launch/ 13) Forbes – Fast Fashion Zara in India (29th Jul 2010) 14) Price Waterhouse Coopers – Strong and Steady 2011 Outlook for the Retail and Consumer Products Sector in Asia 15) http://willslifestyle. om/Season21/lounge. html 16) http://www. earthpulse. com/ PARKING LOT Easy access to credits for the private sector i did not write anything about it! ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. forbes. com/global2000/ [ 2 ]. http://www. chinahush. com/2009/12/02/made-in-china-ad-campaign-and-its-secrets/ [ 3 ]. http://nitawriter. wordpress. com/2007/12/11/india-has-two-of-the-best-design-schools-in-the-world/

Frederick Douglass: His Slavery Years Essay

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the United States was a young nation divided by numerous philosophical and political differences. Arguably, slavery was the most divisive issue at the time. There were individuals who spoke out against slavery; perhaps the most eloquent anti-slavery voice belonged to Frederick Douglass. Douglass was an American abolitionist who altered American views concerning slavery through his writings and actions. He stood in stark contrast to pro slavery advocates’ claim that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to act as free citizens. Douglass was born into slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, in February, 1818. The exact date of his birth is unknown. Douglass chose to celebrate February 14th as his birthday. In his autobiography, The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass (2002) stated, â€Å"I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen authentic record containing it†(SparkNotes Editors, 2002). Douglass’s birthplace was Holmes Hill Farm, located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Frederick’s mother, Harriet Bailey, was a slave who worked the cornfields around Holmes Hill. Little is known of Frederick’s father other than he was a white man. There was speculation that Douglass’s father was his master as slave owners often impregnated their female slaves. Common among slaves was being forced to work long hours; Harriet was no exception. The long hours deprived Harriet from forging a motherly bond with her son. Douglass (2002) recalled the only time he spent with his mother was when she would walk 12 miles after dark to lie next to him at night (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). At a young age, Douglass was separated from his mother and placed in the care of his maternal grandmother, Betsey Bailey. Several years later, when told that his mother had died, Douglass barely reacted to the news. Living with his grandmother shielded Douglass from the harsh realities of slavery. Betsey’s job was to simply look after the young children of the slaves. When Frederick was seven or eight years old, he would begin to the face the bleak life of a slave. Douglass’s grandmother inexplicably took him on a long, faraway journey. The two approached a large, graceful home, called the Lloyd Plantation. Several children were playing in front of the home. According to Sandra Thomas, author of Frederick Douglass–Abolitionist/Editor, A Biography of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Betsey Bailey pointed to three of the children and introduced them as his siblings, Perry, Sara, and Eliza (Sandra Thomas, n.d). Frederick reluctantly joined his brother and sisters for a bonding session. After a while, Frederick realized his grandmother had left the plantation without him. Life on the Lloyd Plantation was vastly different from what Frederick was accustomed to. The plantation encompassed 20 farms and grew tobacco, corn, and wheat. Douglass’s master was named Captain Aaron Anthony, who was also the plantation’s superintendent. Captain Anthony supervised all of the plantation’s overseers, and was responsible for three to four hundred slaves owned by the Lloyd family. All slaves were required report to Lloyd’s central plantation for their monthly allowances of pork or fish and cornmeal. All of Lloyd’s slaves referred to the central plantation as â€Å"The Great House Farm,† because it resembled a small village (SparkNotes, 2002). The slaves also received one set of linen clothing, which was expected to last for one year. Frederick did not work in the field as a young boy because children were not strong enough. Instead, he was assigned to be the companion of Daniel Lloyd, the plantation owner’s grandson. Even though Daniel quickly became quite fond of Douglass, this friendship did not produce any favoritism towards Frederick. Like the other slave children, Douglass was given only a long, linen shirt to wear. The cold winters damaged Douglass’s feet so badly that he could insert a pen into the cracks of his flesh (SparkNotes, 2002). The children were fed cornmeal mush and forced to eat it out of a trough, similar to how pigs were fed. Perhaps the only preferential treatment Douglass received came from Lucretia Auld, Captain Anthony’s daughter, recently married to a ship’s captain. Lucretia gave Douglass menial tasks to perform, such as running errands. In 1826, Lucretia told Douglass he would be sent to Baltimore to live with her brother-in-law, Hugh Auld, manager of a ship building company. Additionally, if Frederick cleaned himself up really well, Lucretia promised to give him a pair of pants to wear for his trip. In his autobiography, The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass (2002) states he spent the majority of the three days leading up to his trip at a creek, â€Å"washing off the plantation scruff†(BookRags, p 75). Clean and stylish in his pants, Douglass left the Lloyd Plantation for what he hoped would be the last time. Of leaving Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, Douglass (2002) felt no sorrow or loss because his mother was dead, he seldom saw his grandmother, and his relationship with his brother and two sisters was limited (BookRags, p 75). Frederick arrived in Baltimore and was greeted by the Hugh and Sophia Auld, and their little son, Thomas. The happy smile on Sophia’s face represented a first for Douglass; kindness on the face of a white master. Douglass (2002) believed his move to Baltimore signified the first major step toward freedom. He credited his selection among so many other children as an act of divine intervention, saying: From my earliest recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of my career in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hope departed not from me, but remained like ministering angels to cheer me through the gloom. This good sprit was from God, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise. (Book Rags, p. 75) Frederick’s duties at the Auld home were to run errands and care for the Auld’s infant son, Tommy. There was a noticeable difference between slavery in Baltimore and slavery in the country. In Baltimore, slave owners shared a common sense of decency towards their slaves. In general, slaves were rarely beaten and were given adequate amounts of food to eat. Sophia Auld was unlike any white woman Douglass had ever encountered; she treated him like a human being. Sophia was a religious woman and would often read aloud from the Bible to Frederick and Tommy. Douglass gathered up enough courage and asked Sophia to teach him how to read. Sophia agreed and had soon taught Frederick the alphabet and a few simple words. Sophia had never been a slave owner, and had not developed the mindset that blacks were sub-human. Sophia was thrilled with Fredericks’s progress and excitedly informed her husband. Hugh Auld was furious at his wife’s willingness to bond with a slave as well as her desire to educate one. Auld informed his wife that it was unlawful to teach a slave. Furthermore, if a slave knew how to read and write it would make him unfit to be a slave. A slave owner’s worst fear was an educated slave. An educated slave would no longer obey the master and may even begin to question life as a slave. An educated slave may even escape to freedom alone or with a band of slaves. Auld ordered his wife to stop the lessons immediately. Over time, the constant prodding from Sophie’s husband and the menacing effects of slavery soon changed her attitude towards Frederick. Douglass (2002) noted the change of feelings in his autobiography, saying: But, alas! this kind heart had but a short time to remain such. The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye under the influence of slavery soon became red with rage; that voice made of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh discord; andangelic face gave place to that of a demon. (Book Rags, p. 77-78) Frederick surmised from Auld’s outburst that reading and writing were his pathways to freedom. Frederick made obtaining this knowledge a personal challenge. Douglass used what he learned from Sophia and increased his knowledge of the alphabet on his own. He accomplished his task through diligence and the use of clever tactics. Since Sophia had stopped teaching Frederick to read, she became extremely vigilant in preventing him from learning, becoming stricter than her husband. Whenever she caught Frederick reading, Sophia would scream at him to stop and threaten to beat him if she caught him reading again. In order to counter Sophia’s watchful eye, Douglass made friends with as many white children as he could while he ran errands. The children became Frederick’s teachers; each child offered a different skill set to further Frederick’s knowledge. Whenever Douglass had time between his errands, he would join his friends for a quick lesson. Frederick also exchanged bread for instruction, particularly from the poorer white kids who had less to eat than he did. Frederick (2002) recounts talking to some of them about freedom and even gained sympathy from some for his plight (BookRags p. 79).   When Douglass was around 12 or 13, he obtained a copy of a book entitled, The Columbian Orator, a collection of speeches and essays dealing with liberty, democracy, and courage. The book opened up for Douglass a vast array of ideas on freedom, liberty and truth. One particular passage in the book intrigued Frederick the most. A master and his recaptured slave exchanged dialogue regarding why the slave had run away. The master failed to understand why the slave had attempted to escape for a second time, outlining the many acts of kindness given to the slave. The slave defended his actions and the conversation soon turned into an argument for or against slavery. The slave expertly countered every point the master made for why slavery should be allowed. Having realized defeat, the master granted the slave freedom, even wished him prosperity in his new life. The book also contained a speech arguing for the freedom of Irish Catholics and for human rights in general. Douglass began to fully articulate the case against slavery, but it also brought forth the painful realization of his own life as a slave. The warnings of Hugh Auld had come true, Frederick’s new found knowledge began to torment his soul. In his autobiography, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, (2007), Douglass stated, â€Å"the very discontent so graphically predicted by Master Hugh had already come upon me. I was no longer the light-hearted gleesome boy, full of mirth and play, as when I landed in Baltimore†(Library of Liberty, p.90). During this time, Douglass began to listen to anyone who discussed slavery. At some point in the discussions, Douglass heard the word abolitionist for the first time. In a city newspaper account of a Northern abolitionist petition, Frederick learned that word meant anti-slavery (SparkNotes, 2002). Armed with this new found knowledge, Frederick attempted to learn all he could about abolitionists. Douglass (2007) declared, â€Å"I therefore set about finding out, if possible, who and what the abolitionists were and why they were so obnoxious to the slaveholders†(Library of Liberty, p 90). Soon thereafter, Douglass aided two Irish sailors, without being asked, unload a boat at the wharf. When the task was completed, one of the sailors asked Douglass if he was a slave. Frederick (2007), replied, â€Å"I am a slave for life† (Library of Liberty, p.93). The Irishman shrugged and appeared to be deeply affected by Frederick’s response. Both Irishmen implored Douglass to run away to the north where he could be free. Douglass pretended to be uninterested, because he feared the men might be bounty hunters who enticed slaves to escape, then recaptured them to collect the reward money. However, the thought of running away stayed on his mind, with a vow to do so when the time was right. Before he could run away, Frederick believed that he should learn to write. Douglass (2007) surmised that knowing how to write would be useful, â€Å"as I might have occasion to write my own pass†(Library of Liberty,p.94). By this time, Douglass was assigned to Hugh Auld’s shipyard. He used that opportunity to study the letters that the ship’s carpenters wrote on pieces of timber. Douglass quickly became proficient in writing the letters he knew, and devised a plan that would increase his writing skills. He approached local boys at the shipyards and challenged them to writing contests. Douglass would write out the letters he had learned, and defied them to outdo him. This tactic gave Frederick the opportunity to learn new letters which he practiced over and over. Any writing surface he encountered, i.e., fence, wall, or pavement, he used to practice. His master’s son, Tommy was in grade school at this time and had several books at home. Whenever Douglass was left alone to care for the house, he wrote the words in Tommy’s book until he was able copy them exactly. Through these tedious tasks, Douglass learned to write. About three years after moving to Baltimore, Captain Anthony died. Anthony’s youngest son, Richard, preceded him in death. In order to divide the estate equally between the two remaining children, Andrew and Lucretia, Douglass was sent back to Talbot county as property to be evaluated. Frederick’s departure from the Auld household was a sad occasion. Douglass (2007) recalled, â€Å"We all wept bitterly, for we were parting, and it might be we were parting forever† (Library of Liberty, p.97). At the valuation (2002), slaves young and old were ranked along with the pigs, horses, and cattle (Book Rags, p. 80). The slaves were forced to anxiously wait to see where they were headed. Frederick’s worst fear was to be placed in the possession of Master Andrew, a man known to be heartless and cruel. Douglass was especially troubled by this since he had experienced a certain degree of kindness in his life. Fortunately, Douglass was given to Lucretia Auld, who promptly sent him back to Baltimore to live with Hugh and Sophia Auld. Shortly after his return to Baltimore, both Lucretia and Master Andrew died. Their deaths left all the slaves in the hands of strangers. Perhaps the cruelest aspect of slavery was how Frederick’s grandmother was treated. After years of faithful service to her master and his children (2002), after caring for him from infancy to death, and after populating his plantation with her children and grandchildren, she was deemed too old to be of value and sent out to a little hut to die alone (Book Rags, p. 82). Two years after the death of Lucretia, Thomas Auld had a disagreement with his brother Hugh, and demanded Frederick’s return. Unlike the first time he was forced to leave Baltimore, Frederick was not sad about leaving Hugh and Sophia. According to Douglass (2007), â€Å"The influence of brandy and bad company on him, and of slavery and social isolation on her had wrought disastrously upon the characters of both†(Library of Liberty, p. 100). When Douglass returned to live with Thomas Auld, his began to experience slave life as a field hand. For perhaps the first time in his life, Douglass began to experience prolonged bouts of hunger. He and the rest of the slaves had to resort to begging and even stealing in order to obtain food. Douglass and Captain Auld did not get along; Auld considered Douglass spoiled from city life. Douglass received several beatings as a result of his attitude and for purposely letting the master’s horse run away. Despite several beatings, Douglass refused to be broken. As a direct result, Captain Auld lent Frederick to Edward Covey for a year. Covey was a farm renter with a reputation for being a â€Å"nigger breaker†(Library of Liberty, p. 101). Douglass was thankful for the move, believing he would at least have enough to eat. During Frederick’s first six months with Covey, he was beaten for a myriad of mistakes. Some of the mistakes were real, while others were due to Covey’s imagination. Frederick (2007) experienced his darkest days as a slave, stating: I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died†¦(Library of Liberty, p. 105). A flicker of hope kept him going—the ships on the Chesapeake Bay. Frederick admired the vessels with their white sails and swift mobility. Douglass (2007) contrasted his condition of bondage to the freedom of the seas (Library of Liberty, p. 105). Frederick gained an overwhelming desire to escape from slavery or die trying. A turning point in Douglass’s life occurred after an incident with Covey. Frederick was severely beaten by Covey for being too exhausted to continue to work. Douglass fled to Thomas Auld’s home for protection but was ordered to return. Upon his return, Douglass was beaten again. After conferring with another slave, Frederick was given a root to carry for protection. The next day Douglass received kind words from Covey instead of a beating. The next encounter between Douglass and Covey resulted in a fight that lasted nearly two hours. Afterwards, Covey did not lay a hand on Douglass again. Frederick (2002) recalled, â€Å"My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Book Rags, p. 110). When Douglass’s time with Covey ended, Frederick’s life became similar to a nomad’s. Douglass spent time on another farm, but was arrested for conspiring with other slaves to escape. After his release from jail, Douglass returned to Baltimore and Hugh Auld. Auld assigned Douglass to a shipyard so that he could learn to caulk. There were white men at the shipyard that refused to work with Frederick and a fight ensued. Douglass was assigned to another shipyard where he finally learned to caulk, and received top wages for his work. Since he was still a slave, Douglass was forced to give Hugh Auld all of his money. This injustice reinforced Douglass’s desire to escape, and he put a plan together to do just that. After years of hardship, beatings, jail, and other emotional atrocities, Frederick Douglass was ready to escape slavery. Douglass (2007) stated, â€Å"On Monday, the third day of September, 1838, in accordance with my resolution, I bade farewell to the city of Baltimore, and to that slavery which had been my abhorrence since childhood (Library of Liberty, p.110). Loosely dressed as a sailor, Frederick boarded a train to New York. Using his knowledge of ships, the vernacular of sailors, Douglass deceived the conductor into believing he was a seaman. Douglass’s perilous journey to freedom ended twenty-four hours later in New York City. Douglass found freedom and prosperity as a free man. He eventually settled in New Bedford, MA, with his new wife Anna. Douglass discovered that colored people in the North were united in their efforts to help escaped slaves. Douglass’s (2002) interest in the abolitionist movement was fueled by reading The Liberator, a newspaper that stirred his soul to join the fight to end slavery (Book Rag, p.112). In August, 1841, Douglass attended an anti-slavery convention in Nantucket. With encouragement from a friend, Frederick speaks for the first time to a white audience about slavery. From that moment on, Frederick Douglass became perhaps the foremost figure in the abolitionist movement. References Douglas, F. (2002). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.bookrags.com/notes/fred/PART5.html Douglas, F. (2007). The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: From 1817-1882. Retrieved from http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/2007/138723 SparkNotes. (2002). SparkNote on Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/ Thomas, S. (n.d.). Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist/Editor, A Biography of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Retrieved from http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/home.html