Airplanes don't have windows...
Airplanes don't have windows that can be opened. This deep realisation came about on a late-nighter from Chennai toBangalore on Air Deccan. About 50 of us houseful on (ATR) propeller-driven aircraft were feeling like being inside a sky-sauna. It was a perfect picture except that we had not asked for it and we did not like it.
Escape from Chennai-heat was ephemeral as I relised when I dashed into the plane. For the uninitiated, there is free seating on Air Deccan. And I was beginning to pride myself at the unapparent agility I had displayed to get myself a seat-near-emergency-exit-with-more-leg-room; for the second time in two days. 'Outside is better' is rarely something a person from Bangalore says about Chennai weather. But even before people had begun to settle down in their seats of choice or of compromise as the case may be, I could hear several voices hollering the hapless stewardess. 'AC costs money, man!' I heard from a far corner.
Let's call her just 'S'. It was written all over her face that S had had a long day, and I don't mean just the multiple hops her plane had made since her day had begun. A hint of grit that she had done this before and could take one more of this was evident in the confidence with which she told us that the AC was not working efficiently 'today'; and that things may get better when we would be airborne. She had come by our seats to brief us about the special instructions we needed to know as the people guarding emergency exits. It was then that we had not-so-subtly hinted that we were uncomfortable in the heat.
One hour is all I need to get through with- I was telling myself when the reading lights went out! Anticipating panic, 'S' made a quick and rather brave announcement that the lights would come back when the 'jets were started' (I was too uncomfortable to corroborate the relevance of jet to a propeller plane). But my thoughts were drowned in the roar of the propeller, which told me I was closer to Bangalore by 1 more minute. I was already imagining that it would be cool in Bangalore at 11:15 PM when we would disembark from the hottest thing on earth or hovering over it.
I was also looking forward to the refreshments that I could buy onboard. 'Simplifly' air mag says that the on-board refreshments business is an alternative profit stream for AD . I am OK with the markups on water and juice they sell. But as luck would have it 'S' started from the far end. (Damn Murphy's laws!). She was also interrupted by a gentleman who had to visit the loo. 'S' had to backtrack the cart to let the gentleman through. She started again and then had to backtrack again after he returned. My deep interest in this charade was driven by the fact that I was growing thirstier by the minute; my discomfort validated by a white gentleman who had bravely kept his jacket on until now and who had decided on giving up. Obviously, a lot of people needed refreshments and it only made my wait more agonising. In the middle of all this, the evil side of mind pondered on whether this entire 'NO AC' situation was a conspiracy to sell refreshments. No, too long a shot, forget it!-I silenced the dark angel.
Again, what do they say about great expectations? I was to find out soon when S handed me a bottle of Chota Bisleri and a tetra pack of 'B Natural Guava juice'. 'Can I please have something cold?' I asked 'S'. She said she had a Pepsi can. It was a little cooler alright, but I did not want to dehydrate myself any further with a soda, so I chose to be natural. Practising to drink without breaks helps, you would have realised, had you seen the rapidity with which I gulped down the 330 ml of water, followed by another 200ml of guava. That certainly helped. Refreshments also seemed to have had a general good effect on the crowd and specifically shut up a specially grumpy gentleman who had started to work on his sandwich.
It was then I began to think about the whole lot of work AD has to do to salvage its reputation. They have a rather beaten up status on the timeliness dimension. A cover story on Business World this month was elaborated on the challenges AD faces as a low cost airline. Despite everything, they currently have a PI of 95% on-time 'within 15minutes' and 88% on-time 'within 1 hour' of planned ETD. My experience with ETD of AD would probably be commensurate with the former and I have no complaints.
But can you imagine a plane with no AC? It is just a sausage of vacuum-sealed metal in the sky boiling on the inside (And that's no exaggeration!). When someone later sarcastically repeated AD's new punch line 'Have you flown with Air Deccan recently? It's WOW!' (it is also written on the uniform of AD staff) I was thinking about the cheekiness of their other tagline 'No one can, like Air Deccan!' Notice the comma in that tagline? If they don't act soon, they may have to drop the comma!
2006-09-29
2006-09-22
Gandhigiri and related aspirations:
Someone sent us this link and we were expected to be awed by the 'working phenomenon' that is Munnabhai. 'So soon?', I wondered. The movie is not even 3 weeks old and I have not even been revealing the plot to people afraid that I may not be able to do it justifiably.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep212006/national1813552006920.asp
(The following assumes you have read-up the page in the link.)
Gandhigiri is becoming fashionable now that the movie is still in the theaters. Let me correct myself there. Talking about Gandhigiri is becoming..blah…. There is a whale of difference which any anti-Gandhian too would see.
Khadi used to be fashionable too(still is? I can’t tell). Gandhigiri’s giving TRP to the news-starved TV broadcasters and to the gift-hamper-mongering radio stations in whatever little or big way it can; and no doubt well-deserved accolades to the director, producers and the unforgettable duo.
In any case, the Lawyer and Magistrate have only admired the unique way in which the inspiration from the movie was realized. Admiring any of us can do, because it will get us into conversations and get us audience for raving about the movie and the good-hearted-goons. I too have gotten excited ‘Oh did you see it? What did you think about it?’ responses on phone and outside it when I said I had just seen the LRMb movie (And before that ‘Oh really…you haven’t yet? Why not?’ ). But that’s where it stops.
Because the minute anyone is nice to someone who breaks the queue or jumps the line in traffic, spits outside your door (aah! this one's a classic from the movie), grabs a seat in the company bus, stamps your foot or leaves the used plate in the food-court table, she/he’s labeled a ‘Gandhi’. And that is not in the most admirable senses of the term. ‘Naïve’ will probably come close to what they mean. 'Jobless' will follow.
If you believe in the ‘Tipping Point’ theory by Malcolm Gladwell, it will do well to wait till the point is reached because then it will then become inevitable for us to join in.
By the way did I miss reading what the magistrate/Lawyer/police inspector plan to do to clean up their acts after being so pleasantly amazed at the ‘Munnabhai’ phenomenon, or did they not say anything about that? See what I mean? It's fashionanable to only talk about it.
Are there some places where Gandhigiri will not work? Like counter-terrorism for example?
As for me, I am not going to delve into thoughts of joining the bandwagon of Gandhigiri. Some things are best left to others, especially here; because if everyone becomes a Gandhi, life's small and big transactions will become easier for me to negotiate. But, if I started doing it myself... (No way! I need a two-minute nature break; even the thought of it is scary.)
OK I am back.I will wait for the Tipping Point to be reached. Hail Gladwell!
Someone sent us this link and we were expected to be awed by the 'working phenomenon' that is Munnabhai. 'So soon?', I wondered. The movie is not even 3 weeks old and I have not even been revealing the plot to people afraid that I may not be able to do it justifiably.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep212006/national1813552006920.asp
(The following assumes you have read-up the page in the link.)
Gandhigiri is becoming fashionable now that the movie is still in the theaters. Let me correct myself there. Talking about Gandhigiri is becoming..blah…. There is a whale of difference which any anti-Gandhian too would see.
Khadi used to be fashionable too(still is? I can’t tell). Gandhigiri’s giving TRP to the news-starved TV broadcasters and to the gift-hamper-mongering radio stations in whatever little or big way it can; and no doubt well-deserved accolades to the director, producers and the unforgettable duo.
In any case, the Lawyer and Magistrate have only admired the unique way in which the inspiration from the movie was realized. Admiring any of us can do, because it will get us into conversations and get us audience for raving about the movie and the good-hearted-goons. I too have gotten excited ‘Oh did you see it? What did you think about it?’ responses on phone and outside it when I said I had just seen the LRMb movie (And before that ‘Oh really…you haven’t yet? Why not?’ ). But that’s where it stops.
Because the minute anyone is nice to someone who breaks the queue or jumps the line in traffic, spits outside your door (aah! this one's a classic from the movie), grabs a seat in the company bus, stamps your foot or leaves the used plate in the food-court table, she/he’s labeled a ‘Gandhi’. And that is not in the most admirable senses of the term. ‘Naïve’ will probably come close to what they mean. 'Jobless' will follow.
If you believe in the ‘Tipping Point’ theory by Malcolm Gladwell, it will do well to wait till the point is reached because then it will then become inevitable for us to join in.
By the way did I miss reading what the magistrate/Lawyer/police inspector plan to do to clean up their acts after being so pleasantly amazed at the ‘Munnabhai’ phenomenon, or did they not say anything about that? See what I mean? It's fashionanable to only talk about it.
Are there some places where Gandhigiri will not work? Like counter-terrorism for example?
As for me, I am not going to delve into thoughts of joining the bandwagon of Gandhigiri. Some things are best left to others, especially here; because if everyone becomes a Gandhi, life's small and big transactions will become easier for me to negotiate. But, if I started doing it myself... (No way! I need a two-minute nature break; even the thought of it is scary.)
OK I am back.I will wait for the Tipping Point to be reached. Hail Gladwell!
2006-06-13
'Life is silly. It is just that we make a great deal of it.'
This was something my manager recalled yesterday, reacting to
the death of a colleague of ours. A relative of his had remarked similarly when the latter lost his sister to sudden illness.
I did not know this colleague, but the silent reactions of several of her 'batchmates', some of them in my team, were palpable. The fact that she was only 23 is as unfortunate a dimension of loss as the circumstances under which she lost her life. With her team, she had been to Shivasamudram waterfalls about 90 KM from Bangalore celebrating a project party. We get this opportunity to celebrate on company's expense once a quarter and to avoid monotonous parties, sometimes some short trips are planned, which this time brought her to her water
grave. She lost herself to the, rather furious at this time of the year, rush of the water. The surprisal of how she lost everything to the water fury is but a scary thought. The body was found only few hours later with help from locals.
It brings back memories of my cousin brother who became, a few years back, just another casualty statistic on the Mumbai-Mangalore highway. He was a Sales clerk for TVSS and was
riding his mobike between stores when a speeding bus hit him from behind. The impact catapulted him into air and he landed on his head, crashing on to parapet of a bridge. He was taken to a hospital with a cracked skull and twelve hours later he was gone. That he had a helmet resting on the tank of his bike offered no solace.
My manager recalls how he sees warnings such as ' Twenty people have already lost their lives. Do not be the twenty-first. Do not get close to water' and how people conveniently ignore the
silenced voices. It is easy to forget that one can have a brush with fate when one least expects it. Several cliches about safety only surface when accidents happens to people. When the incident is forgotten, so are the vows of safety people would have taken in reaction to the accident.
I cannot swim, at least I am not trained, yet I pride myself to be an 'aquaphile' if you know what I mean. Have I been just lucky or was there something else I did that has protected me?
I like thrills so I went skydiving. I liked that and the offer so much I did it again. Sometimes, I find my mother's, and of late sister's, fear for escalator silly. Am I been silly in doing so?
From extreme to the mundane, dangers that we flirt with daily ought be consciously weighed. It is easy to take life for granted. At least as long as I am writing this and you are reading this, let us remember that we get to live only once.
This was something my manager recalled yesterday, reacting to
the death of a colleague of ours. A relative of his had remarked similarly when the latter lost his sister to sudden illness.
I did not know this colleague, but the silent reactions of several of her 'batchmates', some of them in my team, were palpable. The fact that she was only 23 is as unfortunate a dimension of loss as the circumstances under which she lost her life. With her team, she had been to Shivasamudram waterfalls about 90 KM from Bangalore celebrating a project party. We get this opportunity to celebrate on company's expense once a quarter and to avoid monotonous parties, sometimes some short trips are planned, which this time brought her to her water
grave. She lost herself to the, rather furious at this time of the year, rush of the water. The surprisal of how she lost everything to the water fury is but a scary thought. The body was found only few hours later with help from locals.
It brings back memories of my cousin brother who became, a few years back, just another casualty statistic on the Mumbai-Mangalore highway. He was a Sales clerk for TVSS and was
riding his mobike between stores when a speeding bus hit him from behind. The impact catapulted him into air and he landed on his head, crashing on to parapet of a bridge. He was taken to a hospital with a cracked skull and twelve hours later he was gone. That he had a helmet resting on the tank of his bike offered no solace.
My manager recalls how he sees warnings such as ' Twenty people have already lost their lives. Do not be the twenty-first. Do not get close to water' and how people conveniently ignore the
silenced voices. It is easy to forget that one can have a brush with fate when one least expects it. Several cliches about safety only surface when accidents happens to people. When the incident is forgotten, so are the vows of safety people would have taken in reaction to the accident.
I cannot swim, at least I am not trained, yet I pride myself to be an 'aquaphile' if you know what I mean. Have I been just lucky or was there something else I did that has protected me?
I like thrills so I went skydiving. I liked that and the offer so much I did it again. Sometimes, I find my mother's, and of late sister's, fear for escalator silly. Am I been silly in doing so?
From extreme to the mundane, dangers that we flirt with daily ought be consciously weighed. It is easy to take life for granted. At least as long as I am writing this and you are reading this, let us remember that we get to live only once.
2006-05-17
Da Vinci Code encrypted:
A supposedly great performance by Tom hangs and Audrey Tautou in which, as Ron Howard the director put it, the two are absolutely involved in the characters and could not have been better cast. A superb story (I am on the fence as far as whether it is true) which has survived controversies that it ran into for interpretations of the symbolism left behind by a master artist, and which introduced me to Dan Brown's writings. Alas, this is not to be seen by the Indian public sooner, because the government thinks it is too controversial a topic and some Indian Christians are already up with their guns and all.
The movie has been shown in Italy, around where a lot of the story is based. It would be just for people to think that their religious symbolisms and plausible evidences have been misinterpreted to show that a lot of Christian religious history, from the first AD has been all wrong. But has the Christian world, outside India, not taken it with an open mind? Is this what differenciates the 'modern us' from them, an open-mindedness about everything, especially culture and religion? Why does Indian Christian community have to feel threatened by the movie? If the damage had to be done, it already would have been, simply because the 'teaching' of the book has reached the people in the book that was released a couple of years ago. Since it is an English movie, which is at the least thought-provoking, one can be guess that people who go to a theatre to watch it will not take things on face value.
Evidence or the lack of it can hardly shake thousands of years of faith in people. The recent trends in Indian society might suggest that, say Hindu, youth are not religiously inclined in the sense that they are not knowledgeable of the rites and rituals of the Hindu ceremonies. But does that mean they stop believing in Lord Ganesha citing lack of proof, or stop believing in Lord Hanuman questioning evidence of his being?
Indian Christian community has been probably the most open-minded group of people in India in several ways. Looking at the intelligent and smart Indian Christian friends I have, I am of the opinion that their faith will not budge even an inch, by the revelations encrypted by Da Vinci years ago or propagated by Dan Brown and others recently. So, what is bothering the people who are protesting against it? The masses will not see the movie in all probability, and the educated man will not fall for it. Orthodox families may not even watch the movie even if labeling it as sacrilegious.
Then why the unnecessary publicity which will only give mileage to the promoters of the movie? And what is dearer will be in more demand. So, be ready to see pirated discs flood the market; another demon to be killed. In today's connected world, people will even pay and watch an movie online (download/streaming/whatever). So, how far will the protesters go to curtail the screening of this movie anyway?
On an equally significant dimension of this issue is that the choice of watching movies is being taken away from the people. This has been an issue from times immemorial. Movies that are usually R rated are reduced to the level of G by the time they are released in India. Why does a movie like 'Water' by Deepa Mehta not allowed to be shot and screened in India? Is it because it reflects the conservative perceptions of many who think this is not how India should be portrayed? Why should a set of middle aged if not old conservative people decide what the country should see? Given they ought to be on the panel for several good reasons, can the representation of liberals not be increased in the panel.Especially, when it comes to foreign movies avid movie watchers are at an utter disadvantage. Why are songs like 'Sarkhailo Khatiya, 'Kaantaa Lagaa', and many others recently, passed while scenes which depict contextually relevant nudity in foreign movies clipped. In my opinion such racy songs leave the same kind of impression a nude scene does. At least people cannot hum tunes of scenes that censor board clip.
In a democracy, there ought to be public debates before any decision that affects a good number of people directly is taken by the government . Let there be an equal number of conservative and liberal experts in an televised discussion and let them clear out their apprehensions in public. Let there be an 'ombudsman' who can preside over these discussions and make official observations. We may start becoming a mature developing society rather than being 'headmastered' by a censor board and conservative factions.
A supposedly great performance by Tom hangs and Audrey Tautou in which, as Ron Howard the director put it, the two are absolutely involved in the characters and could not have been better cast. A superb story (I am on the fence as far as whether it is true) which has survived controversies that it ran into for interpretations of the symbolism left behind by a master artist, and which introduced me to Dan Brown's writings. Alas, this is not to be seen by the Indian public sooner, because the government thinks it is too controversial a topic and some Indian Christians are already up with their guns and all.
The movie has been shown in Italy, around where a lot of the story is based. It would be just for people to think that their religious symbolisms and plausible evidences have been misinterpreted to show that a lot of Christian religious history, from the first AD has been all wrong. But has the Christian world, outside India, not taken it with an open mind? Is this what differenciates the 'modern us' from them, an open-mindedness about everything, especially culture and religion? Why does Indian Christian community have to feel threatened by the movie? If the damage had to be done, it already would have been, simply because the 'teaching' of the book has reached the people in the book that was released a couple of years ago. Since it is an English movie, which is at the least thought-provoking, one can be guess that people who go to a theatre to watch it will not take things on face value.
Evidence or the lack of it can hardly shake thousands of years of faith in people. The recent trends in Indian society might suggest that, say Hindu, youth are not religiously inclined in the sense that they are not knowledgeable of the rites and rituals of the Hindu ceremonies. But does that mean they stop believing in Lord Ganesha citing lack of proof, or stop believing in Lord Hanuman questioning evidence of his being?
Indian Christian community has been probably the most open-minded group of people in India in several ways. Looking at the intelligent and smart Indian Christian friends I have, I am of the opinion that their faith will not budge even an inch, by the revelations encrypted by Da Vinci years ago or propagated by Dan Brown and others recently. So, what is bothering the people who are protesting against it? The masses will not see the movie in all probability, and the educated man will not fall for it. Orthodox families may not even watch the movie even if labeling it as sacrilegious.
Then why the unnecessary publicity which will only give mileage to the promoters of the movie? And what is dearer will be in more demand. So, be ready to see pirated discs flood the market; another demon to be killed. In today's connected world, people will even pay and watch an movie online (download/streaming/whatever). So, how far will the protesters go to curtail the screening of this movie anyway?
On an equally significant dimension of this issue is that the choice of watching movies is being taken away from the people. This has been an issue from times immemorial. Movies that are usually R rated are reduced to the level of G by the time they are released in India. Why does a movie like 'Water' by Deepa Mehta not allowed to be shot and screened in India? Is it because it reflects the conservative perceptions of many who think this is not how India should be portrayed? Why should a set of middle aged if not old conservative people decide what the country should see? Given they ought to be on the panel for several good reasons, can the representation of liberals not be increased in the panel.Especially, when it comes to foreign movies avid movie watchers are at an utter disadvantage. Why are songs like 'Sarkhailo Khatiya, 'Kaantaa Lagaa', and many others recently, passed while scenes which depict contextually relevant nudity in foreign movies clipped. In my opinion such racy songs leave the same kind of impression a nude scene does. At least people cannot hum tunes of scenes that censor board clip.
In a democracy, there ought to be public debates before any decision that affects a good number of people directly is taken by the government . Let there be an equal number of conservative and liberal experts in an televised discussion and let them clear out their apprehensions in public. Let there be an 'ombudsman' who can preside over these discussions and make official observations. We may start becoming a mature developing society rather than being 'headmastered' by a censor board and conservative factions.
2006-05-15
The World is Flat by Thomas L Friedman
I just finished reading this book on globalisation (phase 3.0 as Friedman names what is happening now) that I picked up about two weeks ago, after its new and expanded paperback version was released. The book is striking, not because it has made any predictions or cracked theories but because it has described what has happened in recent history, in an unbiased,lucid and interesting way.
Notwithstanding the fact that I am a novice to the subject of macroeconomics and the forces that shape the business world, I found the book to be extremely informative, relevant and revealing of the concept of globalization and what happened to bring this around. Friedman has made this a narrative in first person and explained the whole idea through many stories and discussions with business leaders, interspersed with the insights and interpretations of a world class multiple-Pulitzer-prize winning journalist.
'While I was studying at college' and when Friedman says ' while he was sleeping' many levellers came up that made the ground for developing countries flatter in which to play. He then goes on the explain the way several countries, India and China primarily, have adopted new technologies and economic policies to make leaps in the global trade race.
Being in the IT industry myself, I am able to relate to a lot of what Friedman has said about how the industry has been able to work, what with the abundance of English speaking skilled youth and the obvious time zone advantage of India. In the process of reading this, I could draw parallel to the theory of Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell. There had to be in place several of the right things before China and especially India could take advantage of this and attempt to tip the scales. Anyway, that is not anywhere the main point of the book, but my own little observation.
In an unbiased way, Friedman has also churned various aspects related to outsourcing (as I am able to appreciate now, it can only be called 'right-sourcing' in today's world), and explain how outsourcing can be beneficial to the Americans, despite their natural and understandable dissent.
Based on facts again, Friedman has also tried to make his case for how religious and ideological politics have worked to the disadvantage of several nations (like Pakistan, Arabian states and many sub-Saharan states) and why if they refuse to change, there can only be more disparity these societies will feel from the other economies and societies that have opened themselves up.
It is worth reading how Friedman has tried to depict the impact of right kind of parenting on the future course of globalisation especially for the Americans. It may give us Indians a wee bit to be proud of the way our culture and society pressures push us to pursue the best of educational options.And now suddenly it seems OK that , even if only in this context, we went through it and are going through it. Well, this can also be argued against, but that will not be here.
This is an unputdownnable book, and a must read for anyone interested in the recent history of the world.
I just finished reading this book on globalisation (phase 3.0 as Friedman names what is happening now) that I picked up about two weeks ago, after its new and expanded paperback version was released. The book is striking, not because it has made any predictions or cracked theories but because it has described what has happened in recent history, in an unbiased,lucid and interesting way.
Notwithstanding the fact that I am a novice to the subject of macroeconomics and the forces that shape the business world, I found the book to be extremely informative, relevant and revealing of the concept of globalization and what happened to bring this around. Friedman has made this a narrative in first person and explained the whole idea through many stories and discussions with business leaders, interspersed with the insights and interpretations of a world class multiple-Pulitzer-prize winning journalist.
'While I was studying at college' and when Friedman says ' while he was sleeping' many levellers came up that made the ground for developing countries flatter in which to play. He then goes on the explain the way several countries, India and China primarily, have adopted new technologies and economic policies to make leaps in the global trade race.
Being in the IT industry myself, I am able to relate to a lot of what Friedman has said about how the industry has been able to work, what with the abundance of English speaking skilled youth and the obvious time zone advantage of India. In the process of reading this, I could draw parallel to the theory of Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell. There had to be in place several of the right things before China and especially India could take advantage of this and attempt to tip the scales. Anyway, that is not anywhere the main point of the book, but my own little observation.
In an unbiased way, Friedman has also churned various aspects related to outsourcing (as I am able to appreciate now, it can only be called 'right-sourcing' in today's world), and explain how outsourcing can be beneficial to the Americans, despite their natural and understandable dissent.
Based on facts again, Friedman has also tried to make his case for how religious and ideological politics have worked to the disadvantage of several nations (like Pakistan, Arabian states and many sub-Saharan states) and why if they refuse to change, there can only be more disparity these societies will feel from the other economies and societies that have opened themselves up.
It is worth reading how Friedman has tried to depict the impact of right kind of parenting on the future course of globalisation especially for the Americans. It may give us Indians a wee bit to be proud of the way our culture and society pressures push us to pursue the best of educational options.And now suddenly it seems OK that , even if only in this context, we went through it and are going through it. Well, this can also be argued against, but that will not be here.
This is an unputdownnable book, and a must read for anyone interested in the recent history of the world.
2006-05-08
Red hot chilly:
Radio Mirchi (RM), a welcome entrant to Bangalore's music-starved skies was featured in TOI today. The article, tucked away in page 3 of the main paper, basically said that within 1 week of official launch, the radio station had a listnership of 33% compared to the locally bred Radio City (RC) at 21%. The results were gathered from a 240-sample cartrack survey which involved asking drivers of cars at traffic lights about the station they were listening to at the time. The survey was conducted by IMRB and sponsored by...Radio Mirchi! Isn't that 'sakkath haat magaa' ?!? So, much for the article.
Anyway, there can be several reasons for this rise is popularity. One, the station itself is new (locally) and there is definitely going to be a sampling stage, where people are try to check out the 'hot'ness (sic) claimed by the station. You cannot base your survey on the data collected in this period only. Secondly, the station also comes well timed in mid-summer when people are always looking for something new to cool them down; a hot channel included. But there are some things that set RM away from RC that we're are used to listening through awfully dragging urban driving and traffic jams.One, it has a very local touch. A lot of RJ-ing is in Kannada, a move welcomed by locals who have to crave to listen to Kannada on a Hinglish radio channel that has been RC. Also, Kannada was introduced on mostly because of some demands made in RCs infancy. The quality of 'sound' (a less significant factor) on RM was superior I found with the same settings on the equaliser of my car radio. The mix of songs is also pretty nice, but one misses English songs on RM.
But I guess that is where RM stops on the favor scale. RC is way mature when it comes to concepts built around RJs that have become more familiar to Bangaloreans than their own neighbours. Sunaina, Darius, Rohit J and Barker and others have adapted well to the local tastes. Not only has RC well tuned their program schedule to match the vagaries of a Bangalore day, it also has introduced programs to give fillip to the local talent, which can be found in abundance. Compare the night time program schedules- RC has an all-international rollout after 9 in the evening as against an-all-Hindi-oldies broadcast on RM. Personally, I am not into the latter after a long day and a dinner.
RM has immature RJs, as they seem to have, taken the term 'youth' literally by
inducting green RJs who talk like they are talking only to school and college kids and also people with low wit. RM's RJ script seems to be a bit immaturish - what with the 3-hour-long tele-call-in themes on 'ways to kill mosquitoes', 'ways to talk your way out when busted copying at an exam' etc. That their fetish on mosquitoes only invited stupid responses is a an ode to RMs imagination.(I did not switch on 93.3 that evening).Long way to go before people of Bangalore are convinced that RM is' all about 'More Dhak Dhak, Less Bak Bak' (their toungue-in-cheek claim).
RCs till my preferred channel though I'd rather not end up with two similar channels. It may take sometime before genre-specific channels come up. Right now they cannot be sustained (unless paid, like Worldspace), especially since the local demand is greater for regional (read Kannada and Hindi) and Indy-pop-bhangra-etc Bollywood-type music.
Nevertheless, the need for more FM channels and more competition among Bangalore's two main channels is 'sakkath haat' right now.
Radio Mirchi (RM), a welcome entrant to Bangalore's music-starved skies was featured in TOI today. The article, tucked away in page 3 of the main paper, basically said that within 1 week of official launch, the radio station had a listnership of 33% compared to the locally bred Radio City (RC) at 21%. The results were gathered from a 240-sample cartrack survey which involved asking drivers of cars at traffic lights about the station they were listening to at the time. The survey was conducted by IMRB and sponsored by...Radio Mirchi! Isn't that 'sakkath haat magaa' ?!? So, much for the article.
Anyway, there can be several reasons for this rise is popularity. One, the station itself is new (locally) and there is definitely going to be a sampling stage, where people are try to check out the 'hot'ness (sic) claimed by the station. You cannot base your survey on the data collected in this period only. Secondly, the station also comes well timed in mid-summer when people are always looking for something new to cool them down; a hot channel included. But there are some things that set RM away from RC that we're are used to listening through awfully dragging urban driving and traffic jams.One, it has a very local touch. A lot of RJ-ing is in Kannada, a move welcomed by locals who have to crave to listen to Kannada on a Hinglish radio channel that has been RC. Also, Kannada was introduced on mostly because of some demands made in RCs infancy. The quality of 'sound' (a less significant factor) on RM was superior I found with the same settings on the equaliser of my car radio. The mix of songs is also pretty nice, but one misses English songs on RM.
But I guess that is where RM stops on the favor scale. RC is way mature when it comes to concepts built around RJs that have become more familiar to Bangaloreans than their own neighbours. Sunaina, Darius, Rohit J and Barker and others have adapted well to the local tastes. Not only has RC well tuned their program schedule to match the vagaries of a Bangalore day, it also has introduced programs to give fillip to the local talent, which can be found in abundance. Compare the night time program schedules- RC has an all-international rollout after 9 in the evening as against an-all-Hindi-oldies broadcast on RM. Personally, I am not into the latter after a long day and a dinner.
RM has immature RJs, as they seem to have, taken the term 'youth' literally by
inducting green RJs who talk like they are talking only to school and college kids and also people with low wit. RM's RJ script seems to be a bit immaturish - what with the 3-hour-long tele-call-in themes on 'ways to kill mosquitoes', 'ways to talk your way out when busted copying at an exam' etc. That their fetish on mosquitoes only invited stupid responses is a an ode to RMs imagination.(I did not switch on 93.3 that evening).Long way to go before people of Bangalore are convinced that RM is' all about 'More Dhak Dhak, Less Bak Bak' (their toungue-in-cheek claim).
RCs till my preferred channel though I'd rather not end up with two similar channels. It may take sometime before genre-specific channels come up. Right now they cannot be sustained (unless paid, like Worldspace), especially since the local demand is greater for regional (read Kannada and Hindi) and Indy-pop-bhangra-etc Bollywood-type music.
Nevertheless, the need for more FM channels and more competition among Bangalore's two main channels is 'sakkath haat' right now.
2006-05-02
Birthday Woes...me two?
Having your 'Official date of birth' different from your birthday is not funny at all. In my case it happens to be a little more than a week before my actual birthday.
To me, it really does not matter, unitl on an unexpected day I get a flood of 'Customer relationship' emails generated by a batch email-program happily wishing you a great year ahead. As if the fact that I am wished on a wrong date is not enough,in my case, it is further more aggravating to know that I am a victim of my own doing in the face of impersonalisation that CRM process entails. I am legally bound to give the record-date all the time. People in my team, with sincere intentions, have been calling me up or stopping by to wish me. Some of them are on the birthday committee that collects funds from people to use it for cake-cuttings etc on people's big days. They usually set-up reminders on our company's birthday database and are reminded of the ones today when they open their mailboxes in the morning.They have no other way of knowing it, unless they ask me. And I have been only keeping a calm ' it is not my birthday today'. I have also been dodging the question that naturally follows- 'When is it, then?'. I only say it is a mess up in the records, not willing to retell the mix-up in hospital records that happened eons ago, which made me 8 days older than I a really am.
Having 2 birthdays to relate to has some disfavours to it. For one it takes away the charm . You are reminded twice over that you are nearing the inevitable, twice over that you are but an insignificant speck inthe macrocosm and twice over that you are far from where you wanted to be- because birthday is usually a time when you do the bench marking of your current state of being with where you had at one time wished you would be at this time. The other time this happens in the New Year, when the whole world is thinking about it with you. And if you have two 'birthdays', you are bound to do this three times a year. The additional distraction this causes has a negative impact on your productivity. In this year's case, today is also the first working day of the week. Then there is another small disappointment that I will have to wait another 8 days to wear the new shirt I have bought for my birthday (a small family tradition that one has to wear something new on ones birthday and I have not strictly followed it when away from home), in mounting anticipation of the annual d-day.
Funny though, two birthdays do not come with two sets of gifts!
Having your 'Official date of birth' different from your birthday is not funny at all. In my case it happens to be a little more than a week before my actual birthday.
To me, it really does not matter, unitl on an unexpected day I get a flood of 'Customer relationship' emails generated by a batch email-program happily wishing you a great year ahead. As if the fact that I am wished on a wrong date is not enough,in my case, it is further more aggravating to know that I am a victim of my own doing in the face of impersonalisation that CRM process entails. I am legally bound to give the record-date all the time. People in my team, with sincere intentions, have been calling me up or stopping by to wish me. Some of them are on the birthday committee that collects funds from people to use it for cake-cuttings etc on people's big days. They usually set-up reminders on our company's birthday database and are reminded of the ones today when they open their mailboxes in the morning.They have no other way of knowing it, unless they ask me. And I have been only keeping a calm ' it is not my birthday today'. I have also been dodging the question that naturally follows- 'When is it, then?'. I only say it is a mess up in the records, not willing to retell the mix-up in hospital records that happened eons ago, which made me 8 days older than I a really am.
Having 2 birthdays to relate to has some disfavours to it. For one it takes away the charm . You are reminded twice over that you are nearing the inevitable, twice over that you are but an insignificant speck inthe macrocosm and twice over that you are far from where you wanted to be- because birthday is usually a time when you do the bench marking of your current state of being with where you had at one time wished you would be at this time. The other time this happens in the New Year, when the whole world is thinking about it with you. And if you have two 'birthdays', you are bound to do this three times a year. The additional distraction this causes has a negative impact on your productivity. In this year's case, today is also the first working day of the week. Then there is another small disappointment that I will have to wait another 8 days to wear the new shirt I have bought for my birthday (a small family tradition that one has to wear something new on ones birthday and I have not strictly followed it when away from home), in mounting anticipation of the annual d-day.
Funny though, two birthdays do not come with two sets of gifts!
2006-04-21
How much do people care about art?
This is the first question that came to my mind when I walked into the auditorium where a 90 minute session on 'Art Appreciation' was being held. I was hoping to gain some tips on understanding what make a painting great . By a long shot, I was also hoping to implement the knowledge I gained into taking better photographs. I have very little in my portfolio about which everyone can be consensually proud.
And the reason for that thought to cross my mind was that there were only 4 people in the audience. Speaker and organisers combined, there were 3 others!Had the organisers known the answer to the above question, maybe they would not have booked a 250-size auditorium for the event. Before the lady started talking a couple of men walked in, but we still did not have enough people to need a mike for the talk.
Probably, I am one of those who use their left brain more than they use their right and would like to know what it means to be able to use the latter one better. This is probably why I began to take photography seriously. In my endeavours, I have been able to take technically good photographs, aided by a great camera, but have failed to undestand why some photographs would be deemed good, while I thought they were pretty simple and vice versa . It has probably more to do than just the interplay of the five elements of a fine picture. Undersanding that is one journey that will never end.
About the session itself, apparently, I had misread the agenda. THe speaker,CH,spoke eloquently about Indian art, its brief history and about the position of Indian art in international market, about the contemporary masters, established painters and the upcoming artists. CH no doubt did justice to her day's task. She touched upon a subtle point about buyers of art today. She clarified that, in India, as has been seen overseas in the past, a lot of people buy a painting for same reason why they would buy a piece of land; ROI. While a true connoisseur would buy the painting for it's appeal, value and the feeling it invokes in her, and let the painting grow on her, many current buyers do it because they can see the painting fetch more dollars for them over the next few years. That's it, more $$$.
I had never really thought seriously about art investment, obviously because I do not have the money. So, when CH began talking about how to go about buying a painting, I had to overcome a lot of force that wanted me to walk out of there. But I stayed.After all, if I left, she would lose a seventh of her audience that evening!
This is the first question that came to my mind when I walked into the auditorium where a 90 minute session on 'Art Appreciation' was being held. I was hoping to gain some tips on understanding what make a painting great . By a long shot, I was also hoping to implement the knowledge I gained into taking better photographs. I have very little in my portfolio about which everyone can be consensually proud.
And the reason for that thought to cross my mind was that there were only 4 people in the audience. Speaker and organisers combined, there were 3 others!Had the organisers known the answer to the above question, maybe they would not have booked a 250-size auditorium for the event. Before the lady started talking a couple of men walked in, but we still did not have enough people to need a mike for the talk.
Probably, I am one of those who use their left brain more than they use their right and would like to know what it means to be able to use the latter one better. This is probably why I began to take photography seriously. In my endeavours, I have been able to take technically good photographs, aided by a great camera, but have failed to undestand why some photographs would be deemed good, while I thought they were pretty simple and vice versa . It has probably more to do than just the interplay of the five elements of a fine picture. Undersanding that is one journey that will never end.
About the session itself, apparently, I had misread the agenda. THe speaker,CH,spoke eloquently about Indian art, its brief history and about the position of Indian art in international market, about the contemporary masters, established painters and the upcoming artists. CH no doubt did justice to her day's task. She touched upon a subtle point about buyers of art today. She clarified that, in India, as has been seen overseas in the past, a lot of people buy a painting for same reason why they would buy a piece of land; ROI. While a true connoisseur would buy the painting for it's appeal, value and the feeling it invokes in her, and let the painting grow on her, many current buyers do it because they can see the painting fetch more dollars for them over the next few years. That's it, more $$$.
I had never really thought seriously about art investment, obviously because I do not have the money. So, when CH began talking about how to go about buying a painting, I had to overcome a lot of force that wanted me to walk out of there. But I stayed.After all, if I left, she would lose a seventh of her audience that evening!
2006-04-07
Earrings of surprise:
'Close your eyes and be like that until I tell you', I said when my wife,S, told me that we were going shopping this weekend, for a new pair of ear-rings. Ten seconds later, feeling a lot like an all-powerful genie, I dropped a gift-wrapped box from Swarovski in her lap. I had been planning to place it under her pillow, but I could not have asked for a more opportune moment to surprise her.
Eager to know what prank I was playing on her, S suspiciously open the blue box with a red bow. An unforgettable wave of surprised and happy look spread on her face when she saw a pair of gold plated clip-ons glittering inside the square package.
On an impulse I had wanted do something unusual to surprise her. She had had no idea that I had been to the Swarovski on my way back from work, already later than usual, or how I had sneaked the gift behind the TV in the living room. When she had called up earlier in the evening I had mentioned about 'something urgent that had come up' that had held me up.
What suprised her doubly though was the fact that she had been thinking about new earrings only that evening, and she had not yet told me about it. While I had on my own had decided to surprise her with...new earrings.
While I dismissed this as a happy coincidence, my wife interpreted her 'had been thinking about the earring all evening' as a premonition of sorts. Taking the middle path, though, one can also look at this as a first example of 'Principle of Synchronicity'in my life . By saying this, I am not referring to any of the psychic abilities that I completely doubt I will ever develop. I am only referring to incident as 'two events happening simultaneously, without a cause, but joined by a meaning.' which by the way is what principle of sychronicity tries to explain.
But what is the meaning of this for S and me?
I am trying to figure it.
'Close your eyes and be like that until I tell you', I said when my wife,S, told me that we were going shopping this weekend, for a new pair of ear-rings. Ten seconds later, feeling a lot like an all-powerful genie, I dropped a gift-wrapped box from Swarovski in her lap. I had been planning to place it under her pillow, but I could not have asked for a more opportune moment to surprise her.
Eager to know what prank I was playing on her, S suspiciously open the blue box with a red bow. An unforgettable wave of surprised and happy look spread on her face when she saw a pair of gold plated clip-ons glittering inside the square package.
On an impulse I had wanted do something unusual to surprise her. She had had no idea that I had been to the Swarovski on my way back from work, already later than usual, or how I had sneaked the gift behind the TV in the living room. When she had called up earlier in the evening I had mentioned about 'something urgent that had come up' that had held me up.
What suprised her doubly though was the fact that she had been thinking about new earrings only that evening, and she had not yet told me about it. While I had on my own had decided to surprise her with...new earrings.
While I dismissed this as a happy coincidence, my wife interpreted her 'had been thinking about the earring all evening' as a premonition of sorts. Taking the middle path, though, one can also look at this as a first example of 'Principle of Synchronicity'in my life . By saying this, I am not referring to any of the psychic abilities that I completely doubt I will ever develop. I am only referring to incident as 'two events happening simultaneously, without a cause, but joined by a meaning.' which by the way is what principle of sychronicity tries to explain.
But what is the meaning of this for S and me?
I am trying to figure it.
2006-03-27
Mandating HIV test before marriage?
We like to think we live an ideal world and try to create regulations that befit a well-oiled executive system. We have a done it again, this time to counter the dread of HIV. The government is contemplating on introducing an impractical law which will require the two people getting wedded to produce certificates pronouncing them uninfected by HIV.
What are we trying to prove by taking such a big bite? Introducing the law would mean that lab-facilities would be required to be set-up across the country. Do we have enough working primary health care centers (PHC) where this can be set-up? For the last 5 decades India has not been able to provide the type of penetration required to reach the 600 million who live in rural to remote areas.
Many PHCs exist only on records. Among the rest, a lot of them are either only 4-wall-and-a-roof enclosures or are manned by just a 'guard' with nothing more to offer. The lacuna in the need and the 'feed' of PHCs shows itself up whenever there is an epidemic or disaster like flood requiring relief operations. Recently, several TV channels also highlighted the lack of accountability and seriousness with which critical cases of H5N1 were handled in Maharashtra.
Seeing the falling female to male ratio in several states, mainly owing to female infanticide and female-foeticide, GoI introduced a ban on ultrasound tests determining the sex of the unborn. But today, especially in the northern states like Haryana, the sex of the foetus is the worst kept secret. The fault lies only partly with advances in technology which has made ultrasound equipment mobile and compact. The bigger issue is that of determining accountability and penalizing the set-up that condones such tests. The thought behind this is noble, undeniably and should be enforced as strictly as possible. I have no recommendations for repealing this law. But what is the point if there is no tracking mechanism in place which ensures that failures in compliance are not punished sufficiently enough for them to act as deterrents to future incidents? In the last 12 years since the law was introduced, there has been 1 conviction in Delhi, recently.
There is no tracking mechanism even to continuously identify the fate of the HIV infected people in the country, so how far will the certification of people wrt their infected status succeed or help. How difficult would it be to obtain an 'uninfected' certification? As easy it would be to buy a lunch for one.
The idea behind the law does not seem to be aimed at spreading awareness about HIV and the consequential AIDS disease. The governments - state and central are already doing much in terms of this by media messages and short documentaries shown in movie theatres. NGOs are doing their bit by educating the people in street plays and village meetings. If the government thinks much is not happening, it only makes sense to improve efforts to educate the masses. Why leap when small steps are what will get you there and the leap only opens more cans of worms?
What good is a certificate? The current level of advancements in curing the disease do not promise a full recovery, but only a slowing down of the immuno-dificiency process. What would a certificate do to help this? Is it more important then that while we spread the news about how the disease can kill, we should also educate people about how to deal with people who have contracted it? A mandated certificate can easily become a tool of oppression for the victim of the disease. There is bound to be stigmatisation of the person, probable loss of growth opportunities if not loss of employment itself. This, on top of the problems that the disease itself brings along with it.
While it may be argued that it might even be easier to talk about it 'because there is a law', there is bound to be an air of complacency around the whole process. It is therefore important that people are made aware of the dangers of the disease. If they do it 'just because there is a law' for it, there is bound to be a licensed spread of the disease, a counter affect to what was originally intended.
The Indian ‘system’ is not prepared for dealing correctly with an HIV certificate accompanying a marriage certificate.
We like to think we live an ideal world and try to create regulations that befit a well-oiled executive system. We have a done it again, this time to counter the dread of HIV. The government is contemplating on introducing an impractical law which will require the two people getting wedded to produce certificates pronouncing them uninfected by HIV.
What are we trying to prove by taking such a big bite? Introducing the law would mean that lab-facilities would be required to be set-up across the country. Do we have enough working primary health care centers (PHC) where this can be set-up? For the last 5 decades India has not been able to provide the type of penetration required to reach the 600 million who live in rural to remote areas.
Many PHCs exist only on records. Among the rest, a lot of them are either only 4-wall-and-a-roof enclosures or are manned by just a 'guard' with nothing more to offer. The lacuna in the need and the 'feed' of PHCs shows itself up whenever there is an epidemic or disaster like flood requiring relief operations. Recently, several TV channels also highlighted the lack of accountability and seriousness with which critical cases of H5N1 were handled in Maharashtra.
Seeing the falling female to male ratio in several states, mainly owing to female infanticide and female-foeticide, GoI introduced a ban on ultrasound tests determining the sex of the unborn. But today, especially in the northern states like Haryana, the sex of the foetus is the worst kept secret. The fault lies only partly with advances in technology which has made ultrasound equipment mobile and compact. The bigger issue is that of determining accountability and penalizing the set-up that condones such tests. The thought behind this is noble, undeniably and should be enforced as strictly as possible. I have no recommendations for repealing this law. But what is the point if there is no tracking mechanism in place which ensures that failures in compliance are not punished sufficiently enough for them to act as deterrents to future incidents? In the last 12 years since the law was introduced, there has been 1 conviction in Delhi, recently.
There is no tracking mechanism even to continuously identify the fate of the HIV infected people in the country, so how far will the certification of people wrt their infected status succeed or help. How difficult would it be to obtain an 'uninfected' certification? As easy it would be to buy a lunch for one.
The idea behind the law does not seem to be aimed at spreading awareness about HIV and the consequential AIDS disease. The governments - state and central are already doing much in terms of this by media messages and short documentaries shown in movie theatres. NGOs are doing their bit by educating the people in street plays and village meetings. If the government thinks much is not happening, it only makes sense to improve efforts to educate the masses. Why leap when small steps are what will get you there and the leap only opens more cans of worms?
What good is a certificate? The current level of advancements in curing the disease do not promise a full recovery, but only a slowing down of the immuno-dificiency process. What would a certificate do to help this? Is it more important then that while we spread the news about how the disease can kill, we should also educate people about how to deal with people who have contracted it? A mandated certificate can easily become a tool of oppression for the victim of the disease. There is bound to be stigmatisation of the person, probable loss of growth opportunities if not loss of employment itself. This, on top of the problems that the disease itself brings along with it.
While it may be argued that it might even be easier to talk about it 'because there is a law', there is bound to be an air of complacency around the whole process. It is therefore important that people are made aware of the dangers of the disease. If they do it 'just because there is a law' for it, there is bound to be a licensed spread of the disease, a counter affect to what was originally intended.
The Indian ‘system’ is not prepared for dealing correctly with an HIV certificate accompanying a marriage certificate.
2006-03-20
Tom-tom-ing the tonne of a salary:
For the last few weeks, newspapers have been flashing news about the high-end salaries that the placement process in BIG business schools have been attracting. The sensation such news has generated has certainly not disappointed the 'placement deans' of the colleges.
It's free publicity, at the least, for the schools trying to one-up each other just as it is a tribute to the ROI factor for the schools to rave about. While such news might only consolidate the position of the premier schools in the country namely
the IIMs, the set of schools in the immediately next level of ranking have much to talk about. It is always musical chairs for the 'other best colleges' recognition and the schools do not think twice about putting up names of students who have got the best salaries.
Sensation is also created by media when they publish stories on salaries for overseas placements at Indian B-shools. While the dollar salary itself may be a staggering amount, the exhange-rate based conversion, that ignores purchasing power parity, gives a very unrealistic impression about the 'value' of an MBA job. While a salary of USD 150K may sound very realistic,and is among the best in the world, the converted amount of 70 Lakhs or so hardly meets the truth when applied to a fresh MBA graduate. It may also give an incorrect idea about the salaries at other Indian 'MBA jobs'.
The couple of beneficiary-genetlemen who have voiced their concerned on these lines have touched the right chord with other job winners this year. In the Indian context where the salary of an eligible 'boy' or 'girl' is closely viewed for marriages,
publishing such news also causes discomfort to the families involved. This, notwithstanding pesky relatives who are suddenly gleeful at the remarkable success of their 'dear one'.
Rising crime against IT community ought to raise a flag for proliferation of 'targetted crime'. Every now and then local newspapers carry stories about IT people stalked into ATMs, waylaid and drugged and robbed at knifepoint etc, across the new metros. IT people are regulary warned by their employers to practise personal safety and some are even introducing them to the concept of self-defense. They are also regularly warned by the companies not to advertise themselves by way of displaying their IDs and company batches etc. Targetted crime is not restricted to IT people, though it makes news as more young people are the victims. Industrialists have been at the receiving end for as long as one can remember. Organized criminals are always on the watch for identifying new victims and news such as the 'highest salary' tagged along with a name and photo only compromises the safety of the benefeciary or the likes of her.
The dean of IIMB has been quick to respond to the pleas of the students by announcing that they would not have press sessions post-placement from the next year. This should lay to rest any discomfort students may have felt discussing their salary which is considered a very private notion. Personally, I have not discussed the details of my salary with anyone, except my wife and parents/immediate family.
Without compromising on the sensitivities of the students, schools can actually publish statistics on salaries from the placements process. Mean, median and standard deviation numbers for the salaries could be published even on the school
websites, which many foreign schools do. Such data could be separately published for Indian job offers and overseas job offers just so that the readers get the right perspective. This should also keep the media happy as they are always comparing
B-schools for general benefit of the students without sensationalisation of a very private notion- one's salary.
For the last few weeks, newspapers have been flashing news about the high-end salaries that the placement process in BIG business schools have been attracting. The sensation such news has generated has certainly not disappointed the 'placement deans' of the colleges.
It's free publicity, at the least, for the schools trying to one-up each other just as it is a tribute to the ROI factor for the schools to rave about. While such news might only consolidate the position of the premier schools in the country namely
the IIMs, the set of schools in the immediately next level of ranking have much to talk about. It is always musical chairs for the 'other best colleges' recognition and the schools do not think twice about putting up names of students who have got the best salaries.
Sensation is also created by media when they publish stories on salaries for overseas placements at Indian B-shools. While the dollar salary itself may be a staggering amount, the exhange-rate based conversion, that ignores purchasing power parity, gives a very unrealistic impression about the 'value' of an MBA job. While a salary of USD 150K may sound very realistic,and is among the best in the world, the converted amount of 70 Lakhs or so hardly meets the truth when applied to a fresh MBA graduate. It may also give an incorrect idea about the salaries at other Indian 'MBA jobs'.
The couple of beneficiary-genetlemen who have voiced their concerned on these lines have touched the right chord with other job winners this year. In the Indian context where the salary of an eligible 'boy' or 'girl' is closely viewed for marriages,
publishing such news also causes discomfort to the families involved. This, notwithstanding pesky relatives who are suddenly gleeful at the remarkable success of their 'dear one'.
Rising crime against IT community ought to raise a flag for proliferation of 'targetted crime'. Every now and then local newspapers carry stories about IT people stalked into ATMs, waylaid and drugged and robbed at knifepoint etc, across the new metros. IT people are regulary warned by their employers to practise personal safety and some are even introducing them to the concept of self-defense. They are also regularly warned by the companies not to advertise themselves by way of displaying their IDs and company batches etc. Targetted crime is not restricted to IT people, though it makes news as more young people are the victims. Industrialists have been at the receiving end for as long as one can remember. Organized criminals are always on the watch for identifying new victims and news such as the 'highest salary' tagged along with a name and photo only compromises the safety of the benefeciary or the likes of her.
The dean of IIMB has been quick to respond to the pleas of the students by announcing that they would not have press sessions post-placement from the next year. This should lay to rest any discomfort students may have felt discussing their salary which is considered a very private notion. Personally, I have not discussed the details of my salary with anyone, except my wife and parents/immediate family.
Without compromising on the sensitivities of the students, schools can actually publish statistics on salaries from the placements process. Mean, median and standard deviation numbers for the salaries could be published even on the school
websites, which many foreign schools do. Such data could be separately published for Indian job offers and overseas job offers just so that the readers get the right perspective. This should also keep the media happy as they are always comparing
B-schools for general benefit of the students without sensationalisation of a very private notion- one's salary.
2006-03-14
Choking competition or just shooting the messenger?
A new move by the Department of Posts (DoP) is aimed at putting global logistics giants out of business in India. The likes of UPS, DHL and Blue Dart are a worried lot fearing a cut in 50% of their business in India and other smaller players are keeping their fingers crossed against a decision that might just make them close their shops.
The DoP is contemplating on introducing a law that prohibits private courier companies from carrying letters or packages lighter than 500 gms. This essentially means they private courier companies would not be allowed to carry letters/documents and small packages. In today's scenario Indian businesses rely heavily on private courier companies to carry all sorts of documents and deliver packages to their and consumers' door steps. There is greater accountability and reliability with the private companies. The move would means that books, gizmos, magazines, and anything else which can fit into a 'small package' will now be delivered solely by the Indian Postal service (IPS). We all know how fast this service has been. The slowly growing B2C e-commerce is likely to suffer a set-back.
The only service that can compare itself for speed provided by the private couriers is the Express Mail Service or EMS and it is a premium service offered by IPS. While the postal service may have the largest network, it by no means has the sophistication that the private players have been able to build into their offerings. Features like tracking a package in real time from the minute it is picked up till the minute it is delivered are some distance away, yet, for IPS. The private players also offer value added insurance features that users often find convenient. The promise of timely delivery has been unmatched by the IPS, so far.
While the ministry has been rationalizing this move as being done to amend an archaic law, about 108 years old, there has been no reason provided for why the competition should be effectively stymied all for amending a law? Why the IPS should be given an effective monopoly on light-weight packages. The implementation of the act would be against the spirit of restricting monopoly. The Postal department has been tight-lapped about it since the industry has started dissenting the move.
The act in a long shot will only give wrong signals to the FIIs who are bracing themselves for a tremendous growth that they foresee in India's pacing liberal economy. With the decisions on FDI in retail impending, and likes of Wal-mart trying to gain foothold in the Indian market, the move is bound to be unpopular with the prospective investors.
It is likely that the move may not happen the way it has been currently announced to be implemented. But the department and the Competition Ministry should work in coordination before voicing out amendments that are bound to be anti-private sector and purport to choking competition.
A new move by the Department of Posts (DoP) is aimed at putting global logistics giants out of business in India. The likes of UPS, DHL and Blue Dart are a worried lot fearing a cut in 50% of their business in India and other smaller players are keeping their fingers crossed against a decision that might just make them close their shops.
The DoP is contemplating on introducing a law that prohibits private courier companies from carrying letters or packages lighter than 500 gms. This essentially means they private courier companies would not be allowed to carry letters/documents and small packages. In today's scenario Indian businesses rely heavily on private courier companies to carry all sorts of documents and deliver packages to their and consumers' door steps. There is greater accountability and reliability with the private companies. The move would means that books, gizmos, magazines, and anything else which can fit into a 'small package' will now be delivered solely by the Indian Postal service (IPS). We all know how fast this service has been. The slowly growing B2C e-commerce is likely to suffer a set-back.
The only service that can compare itself for speed provided by the private couriers is the Express Mail Service or EMS and it is a premium service offered by IPS. While the postal service may have the largest network, it by no means has the sophistication that the private players have been able to build into their offerings. Features like tracking a package in real time from the minute it is picked up till the minute it is delivered are some distance away, yet, for IPS. The private players also offer value added insurance features that users often find convenient. The promise of timely delivery has been unmatched by the IPS, so far.
While the ministry has been rationalizing this move as being done to amend an archaic law, about 108 years old, there has been no reason provided for why the competition should be effectively stymied all for amending a law? Why the IPS should be given an effective monopoly on light-weight packages. The implementation of the act would be against the spirit of restricting monopoly. The Postal department has been tight-lapped about it since the industry has started dissenting the move.
The act in a long shot will only give wrong signals to the FIIs who are bracing themselves for a tremendous growth that they foresee in India's pacing liberal economy. With the decisions on FDI in retail impending, and likes of Wal-mart trying to gain foothold in the Indian market, the move is bound to be unpopular with the prospective investors.
It is likely that the move may not happen the way it has been currently announced to be implemented. But the department and the Competition Ministry should work in coordination before voicing out amendments that are bound to be anti-private sector and purport to choking competition.
2006-03-13
Jam, Jam, here comes the man...
Bangalore will soon become famous for jams...of the traffic kind!Ruthless in their being, gut crunching at their best and utterly time wasting, traffic jams are every Bangaloreans nightmare! I like them for only one attribute of theirs that they are a great leveller. Be it a modest Maruti 800, a Corolla or a BMW (there are quite a few of those in Bangalore), a school bus an ambulance or a police car there is no escaping a jam. They are predictable and they are not predicatable; depends on where you are at what time. A traffic jam is an invisible giant that likes to take walks on some busy, already choked spots of the city, on the nicest times of the day and leaves behind miles-long pile-up of vehicles of all sizes. The giant also shows up unpredictably in some unexpected spots. When in a mood he also likes to play games with Murphy's laws in the middle of the streets, making you end up thinking how
the hell this happened.
This giant was born out of the consummate marriage of bolted growth and bad infrastructure. An unlikely union, but no one saw it coming. The powers that be were busy appeasing the rural vote bank and their own thirst for power they did not deserve or know what to do with. EVen now that this has happened, it is the lame bureaucracy that has been outwitted by the pace of growth and is bogged down by its own weight.
There are 7 million people living in Bangalore. There are 1.2 million privately owned vehicles, 12000 goverment run buses and as many private buses running in the city.There are about 70000 Autos, 10000+ tempos and everyday about a 1000 new vehicles are registered.Having been caught unawares and clueless about what needs to be done to catch up with the fast emptying road-space, the local government has tried some mildly successful experiments to counter deficient roadways for the ever-growing populace and the vehicular appendage that comes with the people.
The favourite one of these has been the conversion of roads to one-ways. While it has reduced congestion, it has only increased travel time.It has added to the confusion. It is literally like a game that the police try new permutations for one-ways to identify what works best. Nothing is constant except the change- seems to be the rule of the day, going by the gusto with which the traffic police is making maps obsolete and testing peoples' patience. A study says these one way conversion have helped improve average speed of movement in the city from 14 kmph to 16kmph. Nice! But is this enough? They also defined a factor called Level of Service (LOS) where in they divided amount of the traffic on a road by the amount it was built to support. If this is between 0.6 and 0.8, we are good. Guess what most important roads in Bangalore (Double Road, Hosur Road, Airport Road, bannerghatta Road etc) have an LOS of >2 and approaching 3. What's the point in converting roads to oneways when they cannot support the traffic anyways? We need more roads- road on stilts, peripheral ring roads, whatever diverts away unnecessary traffic.
We thought we should build flyovers. Fine. But when we built them we did not know how to use them. Why am I saying this? Why do you think, when you see a traffic light (read crossover) in the middle of your journey over a flyover? The Richmond circle flyover actually has a manned crossing right in the middle of the X that the flyover makes connecting four roads near Bangalore club. I think they should build more flyovers and grade separators and build them fast, there is a bomb waiting to go off.There is bound to be a traffic explosion and bigger than what we have seen, and not try such stupid antics with flyovers. This may be a lone example, but this could well be the role model for new ones to come.
There is an immediate need for co-ordination between government bodies that are working in isolation. If BDA builds roads and pedestrians walkways, the BESCOM, the BWSSB or the telephones department digs them up no sooner than the latter finishes the job. What is point in laying the road? Why is there no accountability established?Why cannot the departments talk to each other before doing something? Who is accoutable for these mishaps in the first place?
Three years ago a Bannerghatta Road to Electronics City drive took 30 minutes at 8:15 AM. TOday the same takes 70 minutes on a good day. If you have to maintain the same level of travel time as before you have to start at 7:15 AM. Two years years ago you could start at 7:30 AM. The experience is very stressful and leaves one jittery even as one leaves the parking lot to walk into the office. Average time spent on road has doubled from about 70 minutes a couple of years ago. Organisations are concerned about productivity. One IT company has introduced early morning buses (starting 6:15 AM) and scrapped the late morning buses. Makes sense for the company, but takes flexibility away from people who have no option now, but to take leave, if they have some important personal work to attend to.
A lot of the problems are also due to the pathetic implementation and administration of traffic rules. All sorts fo vehicles driving the wrong way on a one-way street, auto spewing billows of smoke into the city air, cars and bikes weaving through snail paced traffic, cyclists and pedestrians snubbing the wave of automobiles and walking arrongantly in the middle of the road, uncontrolled honking are some of the symptoms of a traffic-illiterate populace. How can we expect to turn this around if people can get licenses to drive, without even passing a test? All one needs to do is pass a 50 buck note and voila you are a license holder! The ease with which the driving examiner absolves himself of the duty of inducting responsible drivers onto the roads speaks volumes about the abject callousness with which we treat the concept of road safety.
I think a solution for this is to drastically increase the penalty for small offences the cops usually condone. Jumping lights should invite a penalty of 500 bucks and parking on restricted spots should invite an equally large fine. And penalize repeated offences by withdrawing driving privileges. But the ground reality still remains that about a fifth of the drivers do not have a valid license. What have they got to lose?
An unmanned traffic light is useless with people oblivious to the concept of right of way. Unless there is a cop waiting to scribble down your vehicle number for the offence of jumping a light, the average Bangalore driver does not mind jumping a red signal.Even with the cop around many are willing to take the chance since there is a very bleak chance that you may actually get a notice asking you to cough up a fine.
On the infrastructure front, the executive should tighten up contracts to complete contruction work in time. There should be heavy penalty for delays in completion of the projects. It worked in Mumbai. Apparently, builders had to pay-back the authorities upto 1 lakh for every day that the work got delayes beyond the deadline.
Lately, there have been talks of declaring certain key areas as non-congestion zones. This means that you would not be allowed to drive into the area or pay a huge toll to do it. The idea is obviously aimed at discouraging use of private vehicles in congested places. This is unfair to the vehicle owners because the very reason they need the private vehicle is becuase the public transport system is shame. If the plan has to be fairly and success fully implemented, public transportation options around the region need to be tremendously improved. Without this, it is possible that the local economy in that zone would devolve.
Bangalore will soon become famous for jams...of the traffic kind!Ruthless in their being, gut crunching at their best and utterly time wasting, traffic jams are every Bangaloreans nightmare! I like them for only one attribute of theirs that they are a great leveller. Be it a modest Maruti 800, a Corolla or a BMW (there are quite a few of those in Bangalore), a school bus an ambulance or a police car there is no escaping a jam. They are predictable and they are not predicatable; depends on where you are at what time. A traffic jam is an invisible giant that likes to take walks on some busy, already choked spots of the city, on the nicest times of the day and leaves behind miles-long pile-up of vehicles of all sizes. The giant also shows up unpredictably in some unexpected spots. When in a mood he also likes to play games with Murphy's laws in the middle of the streets, making you end up thinking how
the hell this happened.
This giant was born out of the consummate marriage of bolted growth and bad infrastructure. An unlikely union, but no one saw it coming. The powers that be were busy appeasing the rural vote bank and their own thirst for power they did not deserve or know what to do with. EVen now that this has happened, it is the lame bureaucracy that has been outwitted by the pace of growth and is bogged down by its own weight.
There are 7 million people living in Bangalore. There are 1.2 million privately owned vehicles, 12000 goverment run buses and as many private buses running in the city.There are about 70000 Autos, 10000+ tempos and everyday about a 1000 new vehicles are registered.Having been caught unawares and clueless about what needs to be done to catch up with the fast emptying road-space, the local government has tried some mildly successful experiments to counter deficient roadways for the ever-growing populace and the vehicular appendage that comes with the people.
The favourite one of these has been the conversion of roads to one-ways. While it has reduced congestion, it has only increased travel time.It has added to the confusion. It is literally like a game that the police try new permutations for one-ways to identify what works best. Nothing is constant except the change- seems to be the rule of the day, going by the gusto with which the traffic police is making maps obsolete and testing peoples' patience. A study says these one way conversion have helped improve average speed of movement in the city from 14 kmph to 16kmph. Nice! But is this enough? They also defined a factor called Level of Service (LOS) where in they divided amount of the traffic on a road by the amount it was built to support. If this is between 0.6 and 0.8, we are good. Guess what most important roads in Bangalore (Double Road, Hosur Road, Airport Road, bannerghatta Road etc) have an LOS of >2 and approaching 3. What's the point in converting roads to oneways when they cannot support the traffic anyways? We need more roads- road on stilts, peripheral ring roads, whatever diverts away unnecessary traffic.
We thought we should build flyovers. Fine. But when we built them we did not know how to use them. Why am I saying this? Why do you think, when you see a traffic light (read crossover) in the middle of your journey over a flyover? The Richmond circle flyover actually has a manned crossing right in the middle of the X that the flyover makes connecting four roads near Bangalore club. I think they should build more flyovers and grade separators and build them fast, there is a bomb waiting to go off.There is bound to be a traffic explosion and bigger than what we have seen, and not try such stupid antics with flyovers. This may be a lone example, but this could well be the role model for new ones to come.
There is an immediate need for co-ordination between government bodies that are working in isolation. If BDA builds roads and pedestrians walkways, the BESCOM, the BWSSB or the telephones department digs them up no sooner than the latter finishes the job. What is point in laying the road? Why is there no accountability established?Why cannot the departments talk to each other before doing something? Who is accoutable for these mishaps in the first place?
Three years ago a Bannerghatta Road to Electronics City drive took 30 minutes at 8:15 AM. TOday the same takes 70 minutes on a good day. If you have to maintain the same level of travel time as before you have to start at 7:15 AM. Two years years ago you could start at 7:30 AM. The experience is very stressful and leaves one jittery even as one leaves the parking lot to walk into the office. Average time spent on road has doubled from about 70 minutes a couple of years ago. Organisations are concerned about productivity. One IT company has introduced early morning buses (starting 6:15 AM) and scrapped the late morning buses. Makes sense for the company, but takes flexibility away from people who have no option now, but to take leave, if they have some important personal work to attend to.
A lot of the problems are also due to the pathetic implementation and administration of traffic rules. All sorts fo vehicles driving the wrong way on a one-way street, auto spewing billows of smoke into the city air, cars and bikes weaving through snail paced traffic, cyclists and pedestrians snubbing the wave of automobiles and walking arrongantly in the middle of the road, uncontrolled honking are some of the symptoms of a traffic-illiterate populace. How can we expect to turn this around if people can get licenses to drive, without even passing a test? All one needs to do is pass a 50 buck note and voila you are a license holder! The ease with which the driving examiner absolves himself of the duty of inducting responsible drivers onto the roads speaks volumes about the abject callousness with which we treat the concept of road safety.
I think a solution for this is to drastically increase the penalty for small offences the cops usually condone. Jumping lights should invite a penalty of 500 bucks and parking on restricted spots should invite an equally large fine. And penalize repeated offences by withdrawing driving privileges. But the ground reality still remains that about a fifth of the drivers do not have a valid license. What have they got to lose?
An unmanned traffic light is useless with people oblivious to the concept of right of way. Unless there is a cop waiting to scribble down your vehicle number for the offence of jumping a light, the average Bangalore driver does not mind jumping a red signal.Even with the cop around many are willing to take the chance since there is a very bleak chance that you may actually get a notice asking you to cough up a fine.
On the infrastructure front, the executive should tighten up contracts to complete contruction work in time. There should be heavy penalty for delays in completion of the projects. It worked in Mumbai. Apparently, builders had to pay-back the authorities upto 1 lakh for every day that the work got delayes beyond the deadline.
Lately, there have been talks of declaring certain key areas as non-congestion zones. This means that you would not be allowed to drive into the area or pay a huge toll to do it. The idea is obviously aimed at discouraging use of private vehicles in congested places. This is unfair to the vehicle owners because the very reason they need the private vehicle is becuase the public transport system is shame. If the plan has to be fairly and success fully implemented, public transportation options around the region need to be tremendously improved. Without this, it is possible that the local economy in that zone would devolve.
The Myth of a family restaurant:
This weekend, my wife and I thought we should make a stopover at 'The Filling Station' in Koramangala. We like the place China Pearl nearby and each time the mystery of the restaurant that we could see from there beaconed us to fill something up from the Station.
The eating place announces itself as a multi-cuisine family restaurant. OK. The first thing we notice is that the place has a kind of not-so-soft ambience. Beige and red tables with chairs for some tables and sofas for the ones against the wall are set around steel columns used to support the higher floors of the building. The I-beams are orange in colour and stand out from the overall decor of the place. We also noticed that the place has a bar, after they handed us the beverage menu. Is this a family place or what? Or do they think families in Koramangala are different?
We order a seafood soup, not brave enough to swallow assurances given by the government that chicken is not sickening anymore. We very clearly mentioned our preference in this regard. Only after the soup arrived on our table and we supped it up, were we a little suspicious that the soup might have egg in it. Our doubts were confirmed when the first waiter was not sure and the captain followed up with a confused 'No sir, it contains no egg'. I trust my tastebuds more! That was enough to upset the rest of the meal.
We had just recovered from the eggy experience, when the man (I have skipped the 'gentle' part) behind our table lit up a cigarette! Trying not to fume, I asked the waiter if smoking was allowed. He immediately conjured up the existence of a non-smoking zone in the small place and gave us an option to settle ourselves in a corner. A smoking zone and a non-amoking zone with a common AC set-up and no walls in between? There must be some confusion here. We moved to the far table, but were wondering about the state of the 7 year old who was munching away in the table next to the smoking Joe's.
Unenthusiatically goin about our food, we were pleasantly surprised at the Mandarin fish that surpassed our expectations. But the schezuan rice has some basmati mixed in it! For some reason (care to help?) we got little help with refilling the glasses of water we kept emptying. Disappointed with the service, we left a nominal tip and a promise of never returning to this 'family place' to fill our gastronomic needs.
Can someone tell me if smoking in restaurants is banned in India; especially restaurants of the family kind?
This weekend, my wife and I thought we should make a stopover at 'The Filling Station' in Koramangala. We like the place China Pearl nearby and each time the mystery of the restaurant that we could see from there beaconed us to fill something up from the Station.
The eating place announces itself as a multi-cuisine family restaurant. OK. The first thing we notice is that the place has a kind of not-so-soft ambience. Beige and red tables with chairs for some tables and sofas for the ones against the wall are set around steel columns used to support the higher floors of the building. The I-beams are orange in colour and stand out from the overall decor of the place. We also noticed that the place has a bar, after they handed us the beverage menu. Is this a family place or what? Or do they think families in Koramangala are different?
We order a seafood soup, not brave enough to swallow assurances given by the government that chicken is not sickening anymore. We very clearly mentioned our preference in this regard. Only after the soup arrived on our table and we supped it up, were we a little suspicious that the soup might have egg in it. Our doubts were confirmed when the first waiter was not sure and the captain followed up with a confused 'No sir, it contains no egg'. I trust my tastebuds more! That was enough to upset the rest of the meal.
We had just recovered from the eggy experience, when the man (I have skipped the 'gentle' part) behind our table lit up a cigarette! Trying not to fume, I asked the waiter if smoking was allowed. He immediately conjured up the existence of a non-smoking zone in the small place and gave us an option to settle ourselves in a corner. A smoking zone and a non-amoking zone with a common AC set-up and no walls in between? There must be some confusion here. We moved to the far table, but were wondering about the state of the 7 year old who was munching away in the table next to the smoking Joe's.
Unenthusiatically goin about our food, we were pleasantly surprised at the Mandarin fish that surpassed our expectations. But the schezuan rice has some basmati mixed in it! For some reason (care to help?) we got little help with refilling the glasses of water we kept emptying. Disappointed with the service, we left a nominal tip and a promise of never returning to this 'family place' to fill our gastronomic needs.
Can someone tell me if smoking in restaurants is banned in India; especially restaurants of the family kind?
2006-03-09
Crumbling Infrastructure in Bangalore:
Bangalore has many epitaphs and I will not even begin to list them. These are but will fade away into watermarks, if nothing happens soon enough.
Let me begin by what I saw seventeen years ago, when we moved in here. This was a very peaceful city. We had a lot of time on our hands. We were never in a hurry. We need not have been. You never had traffic problems. Roads were wide enough for everyone. Then overnite, one fine day, the scales tipped there were just too many problems and we are in the thick of them now. What happened?
Bangalore happened. The latent businesses just flourished. IT, ITeS, Biotech and garment dreams were coming true. There was fertile ground for them to grow. But what successive goverments since early 90s failed to acknowledge was that, with this growth was a fertilizer needed to sustain this growth- infrastructure. Each one was smug in the development that was happening, not falling short of making claims on the success of Bangalore-based industries. With the exception of the last Congress government that Karnataka saw, there is not any substantial work done to improve the conditions of a city that has imploded.
Bangalore is not exactly an epitome of city planning, and since the turn of the century it is showing. The 'please adjust' culture of Bangalore, which has led us to be considered as one of the most welcoming and patient people has led to our downfall. If we have not yet, we soon will reach the nadir of urban bankruptcy- non-existent roads, hapless drainage system, rampant corruption, sub-standard public transportation system, an airport worse than some train stations, lame traffic control system, deficient power-supply and so on.
The international airport being built now has been on the table since around 1978. Why does a city of pensioners need an international airport? But, at the same time, we did give clearances to new business that would one day demand these.More bad planning on flyover executions. While it takes Mumbai 1 year to complete 51 flyovers, we are limping to bring 3 choking spots to normalcy for over 2 years now. People are willing to adjust, and so have I. And for the last decade we have been paying infrastructure cess on the petrol we buy, making Bangalore's petrol one of the most expensive in India.
Along with the people, the other people who are hurt the most are the businessmen who have built world-class facilities for their employees and the builders who have built 'world-class' homes for those who can afford it. They wish the same can be extended, to the extent possible, to the city. Then comes Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and the corporate sponsered task forces. This is an experiment which is bound to succeed if everyone place fair and plays his part. Corporates have the think tank to critically view planning and execution of the proposals for management of the city. Builders have the might to build the roads that will withstand the forces of traffic and nature. But no, we have politicians who think development is anti-poor and that talking pro-poor will help development. In any case what will they personally stand to gain from such partnerships, they are way too transparent for them to digest? They are here to bask in the glory of having been a 'minister' and while at it having made fortunes for his future generations- liqour licenses, land clearances, file-pushing, approval of licenses for what have you- all for cash. PPP work is hampered by government agencies (BMC, PWD, State PWD etc) who are used to laggard pace of doing work, and at most is manned by the losers in the bureaucratic set-up of city's planning. What the Agenda Task force gets is a snub from the last CM and the dismantling of the agency itself without even the consent of the stakeholders/private-sector sponsoring companies.
The Lok Ayukta vigilance cell set-up to contain curruption is crying hoarse that the state is lucky to be evaluated the third most corrupt one in the country. And that it should be on top of the list. But who is listening? You can guard the people but who will guard the guards (legislature and the executionary)? Both are busy filling their own pockets. Atleast this agency is succeeding at some pace to contain corruption at the grass-root level. I think they should have a carte-blanche for how they work, with checks and balances (already?) in place to prevent misuse of power.
In a controversial coup (which ones are not?), the current CM ousted the earlier one and is right now making the right noises. I am sceptical this is the 'heat of the moment' initiatives by the CM to bring back infrastructure-normalcy to the city, and it remains to be seen if the CM is able to sustain this enthusiasm. Lots of miles to go before this CM can claim he reached a landmark. There are far too many roads that lack pedestrian paths, far too many low-lying areas that beg for an effective storm-drain system, far too many disgruntled people at home waiting for power to come-back-and-stay.
Will be back with more on slow moving traffic in Bangalore. Your comments are welcome.
Bangalore has many epitaphs and I will not even begin to list them. These are but will fade away into watermarks, if nothing happens soon enough.
Let me begin by what I saw seventeen years ago, when we moved in here. This was a very peaceful city. We had a lot of time on our hands. We were never in a hurry. We need not have been. You never had traffic problems. Roads were wide enough for everyone. Then overnite, one fine day, the scales tipped there were just too many problems and we are in the thick of them now. What happened?
Bangalore happened. The latent businesses just flourished. IT, ITeS, Biotech and garment dreams were coming true. There was fertile ground for them to grow. But what successive goverments since early 90s failed to acknowledge was that, with this growth was a fertilizer needed to sustain this growth- infrastructure. Each one was smug in the development that was happening, not falling short of making claims on the success of Bangalore-based industries. With the exception of the last Congress government that Karnataka saw, there is not any substantial work done to improve the conditions of a city that has imploded.
Bangalore is not exactly an epitome of city planning, and since the turn of the century it is showing. The 'please adjust' culture of Bangalore, which has led us to be considered as one of the most welcoming and patient people has led to our downfall. If we have not yet, we soon will reach the nadir of urban bankruptcy- non-existent roads, hapless drainage system, rampant corruption, sub-standard public transportation system, an airport worse than some train stations, lame traffic control system, deficient power-supply and so on.
The international airport being built now has been on the table since around 1978. Why does a city of pensioners need an international airport? But, at the same time, we did give clearances to new business that would one day demand these.More bad planning on flyover executions. While it takes Mumbai 1 year to complete 51 flyovers, we are limping to bring 3 choking spots to normalcy for over 2 years now. People are willing to adjust, and so have I. And for the last decade we have been paying infrastructure cess on the petrol we buy, making Bangalore's petrol one of the most expensive in India.
Along with the people, the other people who are hurt the most are the businessmen who have built world-class facilities for their employees and the builders who have built 'world-class' homes for those who can afford it. They wish the same can be extended, to the extent possible, to the city. Then comes Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and the corporate sponsered task forces. This is an experiment which is bound to succeed if everyone place fair and plays his part. Corporates have the think tank to critically view planning and execution of the proposals for management of the city. Builders have the might to build the roads that will withstand the forces of traffic and nature. But no, we have politicians who think development is anti-poor and that talking pro-poor will help development. In any case what will they personally stand to gain from such partnerships, they are way too transparent for them to digest? They are here to bask in the glory of having been a 'minister' and while at it having made fortunes for his future generations- liqour licenses, land clearances, file-pushing, approval of licenses for what have you- all for cash. PPP work is hampered by government agencies (BMC, PWD, State PWD etc) who are used to laggard pace of doing work, and at most is manned by the losers in the bureaucratic set-up of city's planning. What the Agenda Task force gets is a snub from the last CM and the dismantling of the agency itself without even the consent of the stakeholders/private-sector sponsoring companies.
The Lok Ayukta vigilance cell set-up to contain curruption is crying hoarse that the state is lucky to be evaluated the third most corrupt one in the country. And that it should be on top of the list. But who is listening? You can guard the people but who will guard the guards (legislature and the executionary)? Both are busy filling their own pockets. Atleast this agency is succeeding at some pace to contain corruption at the grass-root level. I think they should have a carte-blanche for how they work, with checks and balances (already?) in place to prevent misuse of power.
In a controversial coup (which ones are not?), the current CM ousted the earlier one and is right now making the right noises. I am sceptical this is the 'heat of the moment' initiatives by the CM to bring back infrastructure-normalcy to the city, and it remains to be seen if the CM is able to sustain this enthusiasm. Lots of miles to go before this CM can claim he reached a landmark. There are far too many roads that lack pedestrian paths, far too many low-lying areas that beg for an effective storm-drain system, far too many disgruntled people at home waiting for power to come-back-and-stay.
Will be back with more on slow moving traffic in Bangalore. Your comments are welcome.
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