Bit of an Idea

Conscience

2011-07-06T23:33:00.003+05:30

I was at a Carrefour last night, buying some vegetables. Ahead of me in the billing queue was a short Indian guy- evidently a man who does hard labour for living buying a bottle of water. The billing girl scanned the bottle and said this is 6 Dirhams. He hesitated a bit but immediately took out his wallet. The girl sensing the discomfort said, "why dont u pick a cheaper bottle". He wasnt sure. I pitched in and said in hindi, "That whole rack has a variety of bottles, why dont you pick that xyz brand, why do u want to waste money on this brand when you dont want it". He walked till there and came back saying, "But sir those are not cold". He obviously had a hard day and wouldn't be happy with himself if he forced warm water on himself.

I left the queue and walked with him to another rack I knew had colder bottles. Got him the bottle and walked back to the counter with him. By that time, the queue had become suddenly quite bigger. I thought, "Ouch, could I have just pointed the rack to him and got my billing done faster". But no, I know how intimidating these hypermarkets can get. This guy could have come back with a wrong bottle again and this time go through with it. In the queue, in that brief 3 mins, he told me he works for a laundry and he gets paid only 900 Dhs per month and he is thinking to go back to India (where he can prolly make more money and live better probably).

Thinking about that made me happy that I helped this guy save some money he would have regretted spending. I was on that thought for a while until it struck me how sad the thought was. How important it has become for us to fill our empty lives with giving something in one or other way. How common decency has become an agent to 'feel good'- a novelty instead of a natural reaction. Disappointing!

My dear India-Pak cricket contest

2011-03-31T18:17:00.004+05:30

The wait for the game was over and the day had come; We left offices half day, we stocked beer and snacks, we kept our facebook and twitter pages open and kept family and friends on sms for wishes and analyses. Then it began- we watched Sehwag blast away, Sachin unusually relive chance after chance, and Raina play yet another do or die; Wahab Riaz was inspiring, continuing the legacy of Paki fast bowling- a true spectacle. Then started the defense play, Dhoni’s true strength- but cldn’t help witness Zaheer slip a bit, Bhajji struggle for the ‘atleast one wicket’, yet Nehra bowl like a blessed bird rising from the criticism that almost buried him, and Munaf showing an uncanny grit for consistency with pace and length.

The game was alright- not entirely gripping, not a spectacular stroke play or fast chase, but a tightly held contest. The presentation ceremony and the speeches were an apt culmination of the decency that was shown on ground for such a high-profile match. Almost every other celebrity of the nation was at the stadium, while on the other side of tv we wondered about what could have gone into the security arrangements.

Come 45th over, I could hear the fire crackers off the street; Come 49th they were louder and come the victory it was an orchestra. Firecrackers, whistles, horns, screams, and “Bharat maata ki jai”. I was enthralled for being lucky to experience it, this is new every time it happens; but I had no idea of what lay ahead. A couple of friends came home and we set out on the roads to see if there was anything happening on the rallying front. A couple of bikes waving flags passed by, but not until we hit a junction where I was baffled by the size of the crowd I saw. A huge mob stood at a junction dancing and drumming; and holding every passer by to dance a step or two with them before they let them pass. It appeared obstructive in the beginning but it began to sink in. They held a bus to a halt, the bus driver aptly responded with swinging his arms to signal a dance; but it wasn’t enough, he had to get down and dance with them and then they let the bus go. This repeated with every vehicle, unless there was a lady in it. If it were there, they let it pass just with a naara, “Bharat maata ki jai”, to which the ladies didn’t mind waving their hands and smiling without being scared. By then the police had come, nothing they could or wanted to do; but just request the crowd to not obstruct the traffic. The crowd obliged and began to simmer down but its size began to deplete; no noise no point crowding culture.

But we couldn’t simmer down, we wanted more. Then we decided to explore the best place for it- the MG road. Dropped off our bikes at home, took the car and hit the road. The occasional flags waving, the drunk guy screaming from his bike, and the police patrol vehicle beaming. Not until we reached M G Road did I realize that this is the most manic, most participated rally I’ve ever been in; infact even ever seen.

The shirt less guy standing on his bike and swirling his tee atop his head, the innumerous flags waving, the bike stunts, the uncontrolled hand-shakes and high-fives with strangers, the “jeet gaya bhai jeet gaya”, and the occasional abuse phrase on Pakistan. The silent cops, without the lathis, were diligently just directing the mania instead of trying to control it. A manic girl was beating the bottles in her hand against each other accompanied with a head bang; looked like she had lost it but it didn’t matter, she was just too jubilant. Still the innumerous flags were waving at different heights and bikes wheeling within a huddle. A guy taking procession of Sachin’s poster with title, “Born to Win”. I wasn’t sure if the need to celebrate used the victory as a reason or if it was vice versa, but an emotional expression of this magnitude has very less space for reason.

This absolutely, positively happens only in India.

These are experiences everyone on the road that night had, in their own realm of perceptions and in their own celebration of emotions। But I had to give to it that this is the biggest mania I’ve seen on streets in all my life and I was totally glad about being a part of it। How much does cricket mean to this nation; a question asked too many times and simply concluded that it’s, ‘A little too much’. And India-Pak matches mark the epitome of sport's significance to life. But like my friend remarked, "The passions are alive, the celebrations are vibrant, the competitiveness has sharpened but the hatred has reduced". Probably it's the best metamorphosis that could happen.

India has exported religions to the east over centuries of past but had imported its biggest modern religion from the west and made it its own.

Kids

2011-03-25T18:54:00.003+05:30

There are 2 kids who live in the same building as I, and a cousin of theirs who visits them. I have been giving bike rides to the boy and been playing with the girl kid for sometime now. But the stronger bond has been through chocolates. So much so that I stock chocolates and toffees for them and indeed ration those so that it'd make the kids keep coming to me regularly. This is such a typical story of the 'uncle in the building' who gives chocolates and plays with them, nothing different. But the 'uncle' addressing hurts a bit to which the boy sometimes sensitively changes his adress to 'anna' :D

A friend once told me, "Tendancy to want to spend more time with kids is harmonal change and thus a factor of age". If thats true, then I've definitely aged into the next phase of life.

I've lived in a lots of apartments past 5 years but these little ones will be first set of neighbours whom I'll miss after I move out of the building next month. Thank you Dhanush and Prerna and their cousin Bhoomika.

Journeys I Make

2010-11-19T18:18:00.005+05:30

The road going by in the rear view,
The breeze breaking upon my helmet,
The engine thump knocking on my ears;

My eyes battling the dust,
Yet resting on the dance of the fields,
And the sight of the people passing,
Ones that'd never return;

Its the outer world
The feel changes
The view changes
But wherever I moved to
One place I was always in- My thoughts

Deepavali- A second take (Labor Exploitation)

2010-11-06T11:16:00.005+05:30

There's clearly a massive problem in the way the firecrackers Industry functions in India. Pl read the article on the link below and the video embedded before you go on to read my analysis further down.

http://ngopost.org/story/happy-diwali-child-labor-sivakasi

Its very sad the extent of labour exploitation (both adult and child) and the government's inability to curb it. There have been appeals from many quarters which have called for measures like boycotting the consumption of fire crackers to protest the labour practices in this industry. The victimization is both economic and social (especially caste exploitation). But we all do understand boycotting the consumption would not be feasible given the prominence of the festival in the country and indeed its not economically prudent too. Lets examine the issues from an economic perspective.

Match boxes
There are prominent brands like ITC distributing the matchboxes but the manufacturing is outsourced to local micro firms. The price of a matchbox is at best Rs 1 and what's worse, most times the matchsticks dont earn revenue for the retailers. The primary use of matchsticks in India is for lighting cooking stove and lighting cigarettes/ beedis. And in India, most of cigarette purchases are in the amounts of one or two sticks at a time, and the cigarette shops that sell these cigarettes have to offer a match stick to light it and this cost has to be included in the small margins made on cigarettes. There is no way of hiking the price of a matchstick as its primarily a cost to the retailer with no direct revenue. Getting the Matchboxes to the retailers at Rs 1 that includes costs of Manufacturing, Packaging and Transport incentivises the manufacturers to use cheap Child labour even though its illegal. This problem is deeply systemic in a tight margin FMGC sub sector and the solution has to involve an economic genius at the govt level. Unfortunately I've no ideas yet to offer a solution here.

Fire Crackers
This has to account for the evolution of this industry over its long history. The migration of local manufacturing of firecrackers to more centrailized manufacturing in Sivakasi that has in recent decades become a hub for the entire region in the country. But the economic model has so many variables that makes this problem complex-
Its a heavily unorganized sector- No sophisticated demand estimation, less skilled work force, no traning practices for labour, no govt regulation on pricing, no advanced transportation, no presence of Insurance mechanisms.
These are just a few but lets examine each of these individually

1) Its a seasonal item: The overheads for the entire year have to be taken care with the revenues from the one month sales.
Probable Soln: A reasonably advanced demand estimation can migrate the seasonal manufacturing to year round and encourage safe storage of inventory. The importance of govt's intervention in this regard is indisputable.

2) Less skilled work force: The industry by-and-large remains unsophisticated. And having seasonal consumption disincentivises maintaining a steady workforce and incentivises companies to encourage local un-skilled labour to flock the companies for employment in this season. How they are employing themselves around the year is unknown (may be farm labour)
Probable Soln: Shifting manufacturing to year round might help in this case too.

3) Lack of training practices: As there is no specific trend of labour association with the industry, there is less impetus on training the workforce on safety measures, providing them benefits in order to encourage retention etc., all of which can lead to creation of industrial towns which provide for better livelihood with housing, sanitation, and other community benefits.

4) No Regulation in pricing: This is the core issue. There is no backward information integration on the consumption which leaves the pricing entirely ad-hoc. In addition, every year witnesses product innovation where there is uncertainty in demand. The retailers place their order at Sivakasi 2 months in advance based on the inventory left over from their last year sales and their intuitive estimation of demand in their local catchment area (which again is bound to leave some unsold inventory that gets carried to next year as there is no returning of unsold items to the manufacturers). The retailers cant predict demand and keep a high margin for themselves to recover the cost of their capital. This eats into the margins for the manufacturers and makes them keep a check on costs (primarily labour costs). What adds to the problem is that most retailers are also not dedicated to this industry, the have other vocations for other times of the year.
Probable Soln: In heavy, bold letters- 'Organized retail'. Need not be corporate entry but atleast an Amul type experiment will do wonders in this sector in less time than you can imagine. This would also pass on the benefits to the consumer in bringing stability and predictability to the prices. And the Govt can enter to ensure 'MRP' model is implemented and practiced.

5) Non-sophisticated Transport: 'Highly inflammable substances inside'. No transport provider? These get shipped in normal trucks with probably one or two extinguishers on board. Since the perceived threat is so high, it affects the pricing heavily by including a good amount of margin for potential loss of goods. And these margins are kept with the transporters and the retailers not manufacturers who refuse to take the risk.
Probable Soln: Any local entrepreuner out there wants to specialize in providing this transport in a world class way?

6) No-Insurance mechanisms: Insurance companies dont enter any industry that they dont understand and top of it which is unorganized. If the steps above are gradually implemented, the insurance sectors need not be reminded of this opportunity, they'll see it themselves. Underwriting of the supply chain and labor work force can dramatically improve this sector's margins by removing the risks- and this can be shared between all the stakeholders- the companies, the work force, the retailers and the consumers.

7) Encourage exports: For the industry of this size (given the local consumption levels), the extent of sophistication is pathetic. If these companies are encouraged to look abroad and compete with chinese or other major manufacturing hubs of the world, it could bring in industry best practices in manufacturing quality, safe manufacturing, safety marking of the goods, labour training and practices etc.

This has to start with the Govt agencies, the non-govt agencies can work towards bringing govt to action. The community awareness can additionally act as a catalyst. The solution listing is much simpler that implementing it- identify the stake holders and Organize them into a sector, bring in regulation for pricing, encourage competition, develop multiple hubs, increase public awareness; All this might translate to migration of the firecracker industry from a Cottage industry to an SME (Small and Medium Enterprises). This might force the companies in Sivakasi into better labour practices and help the society boycott child labour

Deepavali

2010-11-06T08:47:00.008+05:30

In an early morning phone call I remarked to my friend, "The festival of fire-crackers", and she immediately retorted with, "Its more than that. What you are holding is a 14 year old's view, which clearly shows you've not grown up beyond that". I'm not offended, as it has always been and always will be a festival of fire-crackers for me. That's why there is no place on earth than India itself to be on this day. No sky on earth lit with so many sparkles, gong with so many sounds; No ground with so many lamps, surrounded with so much bright attire adorning such unbridled enthusiasms. Only gods could shower so much positive energy on entire [Indian] humanity at a single point in time. And people seem to not care much about the choking smoke all around.

The kids start the celebrations (the fire-crackers I mean) a little too early in the day, the young start at the dusk, the older-than-young a little later; but eventually all do join the party... Beyond the fire crackers, the festival element includes a puja (when I was a child, my mom used to insist we join her in the puja room but now she lets me be), umpteen oil lamps placed on every groove outside of the house that can hold a lamp, lot of food and sweet all day, all parking arrangements redone to accommodate much space for the cracker ceremony, and the entire community coming together in clusters- sometimes sharing the view of the cracker burst and other times bursting of them itself and much later for sharing of the sweets.

In my house it starts with the customary act- the grand old man (my grand-dad) of the house lighting the big ladi. Then he goes back to his big chair in the corner overseeing the act. As far as my memory goes, its been his onus to see to it that the fire-crackers act should last atleast for an hour and half, and that everyone is busy in the act always and also that they are not scared- you fiddle around with a 'hydrogen bomb' placed on ground a couple of times and it still doesn't light, you can sure expect a scream from him, "what the hell are you scared for, at your age we used to light them and throw them with our hands". (That scream was for my sister btw, I too can light and throw them with my hands)

My bro-in-law is teaching me what's the best way to fire a 'double sound' bomb while my sister is busy thinking of arrangements for lighting many flower pots at a single time and how beautiful it might look. My mom has saved her 'vishnu chakras' which she keeps lighting in intervals, the ones that you hold in your hand with a little stick while they twirl in fire, its damn thrilling and it sure needs courage to hold one; she is damn proud that its her favorite thing- I realize everyone's favourite almost remains the same since their childhood. My dad's lighting 'Ground chakras' and 'Lakshmi bombs' one after the other, somehow the range of firecrackers is limited to those two for him this year. But he has been asking us to start firing the rockets already. Parashuram, the 20yr old young man, my dad's business cum house help is aiding in continuously rearranging the inventory of fire-crackers and in intervals picking his stuff and lighting them himself; he sure has worn his favourite pair of clothes today, it shows in his face. Srihari, the tiny boy of the tenant comes to the floor bringing his packet of sparkles, flower pots and ground chakras but is clearly lost in the madness. He is about to go back when his mother also comes down and assures him its going to be fun. He and his elder sister keep taking the floor between us and they are beginning to get into the groove. But he still hates the ladis we keep firing.

This is nicely consuming all of us when all of a sudden we witness the first sky spectacle- A sound bang and sparkles fly in all directions forming an umbrella over your head. Its bright, the fall is slow and symmetric, a total magic how many ever times you might have witnessed it already. Before we digest the awe and turn back our heads, another one goes off this time throwing sparkles of different colours and like an umbrella opened flat on sideways. My mind goes to my 'special item' but no, I'm saving it for the last. Then I witness an uncanny thing, a latest invention in this area- a gas balloon styled, heart shaped, fire under a balloon flying in the sky. Someone prompts to me that its called 'Parachute' and it floats in the air as long as the fire lasts, and its drifting in the air amazingly.

Slowly now our festival seems to be nearing the end; Parashuram is staring down a bleak inventory of firecrackers and my dad tells him to leave a few for next door watchman's little son and take the remaining to his siblings at home, he packs them up carefully into two bags. While we are winding up our act, my dad has been cautioning us about washing our hands before we eat anything and carefully reminding us that we have to wait to eat the sweets until the grand old man eats the first one. Our marwari neighbour (whose house is lit today with a gazillion electric lamps) has sent us dry fruits and a Rasogolla tin box, both of which add to the lot of dishes my mom has made since morning.

We wash our hands, eat our sweets, some say their prayers and we are back in the living room. A deepavali that still hasnt ended as there is so much of sky to stare at while the real competition of who's got the best sky spectacle is going to last for a while. The city police commissioner has issued a notice to end the fire crackers by 10pm but this is not the only rule that people here have ignored as it conflicts with their joy.

The Wonder years

2010-08-05T11:37:00.005+05:30

Sitcom of the early 90s in US. So many people had suggested and so many times I tried to watch but kept deferring; my restless mind wouldnt settled down on the idea of watching a 'soulful' act. And after I got hold of the sitcom and each time I mentioned to some friend that I'm planning to watch it now, anyone who has seen it goes, "Awwww I love it". I realized, may be there are some emotions that run common in everyone, unite us all without any exception.

Makes you appreciate the little things of your life, the everyday things, the simplistic take on otherwise complicated things, the family things and about loving someone. The things you thought were lost in past bcoz you are no longer the same person you were but it does hit you that some of them come back and when they do, you discover yourself again. Like its said in an episode "Things that go beyond distance and time".

May be it was good I didnt watch it before; everything in life has a best time for it. Isnt it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LSTc-5Fn_Y

5 favourite Ads

2010-07-30T11:32:00.002+05:30

Creative, Funny, Hearty, Deceptive

Tourism Industry

2010-07-29T11:19:00.004+05:30

Have always been excited to see if I can be part of the it- as a service provider I mean and not just traveller.

Have made valliant attempts at it too, luckily all of them stopped at paper stage only... To solve this mystery to myself , I tried to look into the industry and see how it is structured. My analysis is that the industry is about the 3Is- Information, Itinerary and Infrastructure.

Most of the first time entreprenuers excited about creating something for travel come up with ideas from their own travails of travel on how they could have known better about the destination or the route, on about how their photos can be better shared and how their experiences can matter more- The information part of the business.

Tour planners are aplenty. Right from the street corner fellow offering small destination packages to behemoths like yatra.com that cover the entire country. This is the itnerary part.

Then comes the big money, the things that matter- the travel, the stay, the food, the commute, the cultural centers. As much as tourism is dependent on the destination, infrastructure too plays the key role. This is where the govt policy matters the most and big capital can make the difference. This is where local people and skills can be nurtured along with other resources to make tourism a better leisure activity for folks.

I recommend the book 'Branding India' by Amitabh Kant for anyone interested in this area. He is the man who was at the helm of Tourism renaissance in India.

Tamil Language conference in Coimbatore

2010-06-27T13:52:00.004+05:30

First one was in chennai last month and this time its a festival in Coimbatore.
Its great. A language worth celebrating. And a worthy reason to celebrate in the land of countless languages. All big-wig national poiliticians were guests and Karunanidhi hosted them with a king's pride.

What's the other mileage from this? The language is the biggest pride factor for the people there. It's more or less a timeless emotion that binds them together wherever they are.
Karunanidhi ties his image around this. He is a master at the language himself (he refuses to speak in any other language too), a great orator, a poet, a literature expert. He is revered across the land for this. So! Promoting the language reinforces his position as the leader. Zimple, no?

Jayalalitha madam, are you listening? What's your move?

Movie Reviews

2010-06-14T13:55:00.003+05:30

Movie reviews have smoothly shifted to facebook statuses so havent really shared my reviews... but considering the no of movies (good, bad, garbage) movies i'm watching on screen and off it, i fear i'll burst into 1000 pieces if I dont yap about them now...

Prince of Persia- Scintillating pace; Kickass stunts and amazing characterization. Beats the video game

Shutter Island- Loved it; Gripping, only till the climax though then eases out on you; It passes my litmus test for movies, "If you are still thinking about the movie even 10 mins after you've walked out, its a great movie"... Martin scorsese broke out of his own genre to do such a thriller that almost reminds you of Stanley Kubrick and he enters the league of Clint Eastwood...

Kites- The less we talk about it the better; Coz the movie is so bad and Barbara mori is sooo good :D

Shrek forever after- Not much to review. A very normal animation movie

Rajneeti- Over intense characters, All evil; Very cynical presentation of politics; Nothing intelligent about the plot; Very high production values; Modern bollywood; Ek baar watching 'chalta hai'

Betting Bangarraju (Telugu)- Cheesy sleazy comedy only possible in telugu cinema; Very stupid story but very good fun dialogues;

Robin Hood- Like I tweeted, Ridley Scott should go back to making Ad films. The movie's about pre-Robin hood days as we know him from our convent story books but it wasnt made clear tat way which is the root problem. Russel crowe is wasted and Cate Blanchet is misplaced... No pace to the movie and most of the characters have no character :D

A Train Ride

2009-12-07T16:48:00.003+05:30

The Mountains that go up n down and up n down
The train tracks greased and old running by the side
The Silent lake locked between the two,
Still as if it was never disturbed;
The Birds that are peeping into the waters for fish
And their lovely formations;

The indiscrete villager staring at the train
The odd greenery from the barren lands
The houses that I dont know whether are old or new
The new roads that are good for mirrors
The little temples dotting each village
And the canals running into the fields;

Wish I could Photograph

The million villages that form the alphabet of the land
And the billion people that make a poem from it

A physicist's view on the world

2009-10-27T07:27:00.006+05:30

Ever wondered if Bhuddha was a physicist? This physicist provides a remarkable take on science and simple principles on how it works. One of the very few Ted talks in which the presenter refers to paper notes. I loved the talk, hear it twice to understand in detail.

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_a_new_way_to_explain_explanation.html

His conculsive remarks- simple and profound: The search for hard to vary explanations is the origin of all progress. Its the basic regulating principle of enlightenment.

Kasab doesnt have a lawyer

2009-04-01T23:46:00.005+05:30

Defence is every alleged criminal's right, globally. There is nothing more common sensical than that.

Ajmal Kasab doesnt have a lawyer for his story. Shiv Sainiks have attacked the house of Anjali Waghmare who was appointed by the court as kasab's counsel and now she is reconsidering taking up the job. Kasab was caught red handed for one of the most grievous crimes in recent times, there is less than miniscule chance that he escapes conviction but its procedural mandate to have defence. Only this can ensure speedy process and conviction.

Havent we learnt nothing from Mohamad Afzal's episode? I was audience to Nandita Haksar's personal narration of her experiences (of being attacked and ransacked) when she took up Afzal's case. This was lost in the myriad of debates about this issue in the popular media then. I feel this trend is the result of the failure of Indian Media in presenting to people the case for democratic procedures in a society thats behaving hardly democratic in matters such as these.

It saddens me that for majority in India, democracy is just 'Right to vote' more than 'Rule of law'.

Creation

2009-03-22T09:05:00.004+05:30

Quest for Creation, I think, is something which is introduced only once to a person. Life is never the same once he assumes that role. The drive to bring new things to life coupled with the uncertainty associated with change makes creation most exciting.

Observe anyone donning that role- Artist/ Author/ Musician/ Scientist/ Entrepreneur who in their own capacity keep creating things that have their own scope for change and influence on life. For them, creation becomes the central element around which all rest things revolve. Creation is considered an act of god and hence for humans assumes the top position amongst vocations.

Like Francis Ford Coppola observed, "Every Creation is a victory over fear".

Beep Beep...

2009-03-21T16:02:00.009+05:30

Honking Menace!!!

This topic deserves a place among the biggest national debates... One advancement in this regard was when Mumbai govt recently announced that it'll fine excessive honking by upto 1000 rs. But like other laws, this too doesnt clearly lay out what act qualifies as honking crime and also doesnt care to adopt advanced mechanisms to identify crime. The law assumes that the traffic cop will be able to perceive the crime and take action on the spot... This leaves the motorists worried that its an additional whip in the hands of a corrupt cop- as the decision is at his discretion...

But what makes this 'habit' the biggest reason for noise on our roads!!! Honking is a much complicated phenomenon than it seems and I fear the approach to curb it should take into account all those factors. Some of the factors are:

- Hassled routines and crowded roads, driving is a monotonous act... why not make some music ourselves (Beep Bip Bip beep beep). Music has always been an integral part of our civilization aint it!

- Not too long ago, musicial horns was a rage (one sane decision our govt. took was to ban them).

- Indians have an impeccable traffic sense. You dont know from which bylane which bike or car would emerge. Why not honk everytime we approach a bylane? (its a subconscious decision and a practice)

- Unbroken honk (Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppppppppp!!!!) is another way to indicate to co motorists tat "Move away guys, I'm in a rush. I just cant stop at the orange light or wait till you idiots race up". Guess it makes them feel that their job that they are rushing to is more important than what others are running for.

- Even children riding the fictitious scooters go like 'vroooommmmmm, beep beep'.... At that age starts the realization that driving and honking go hand in hand.

- Pedestrians dont care and are not trained to care for the signal, they know tat the motorist wouldnt risk knocking them down... Motorists have no choice but honk in safety. Moreover they just have to lift their hand and walk across the street. And if any motorist expresses his ire, they have their mantra, "jaa bhe ja!" (Get going!).

- Overtaking from left. On Indian roads, speed is where space is but since its against convention to overtake from left, it deserves some honking. Doesnt it!

Very recently, I couldnt stop reacting to an incessant honker with "Kya hai???" (whats it?), and he candidly replied "Tu mat sun na, us auto ke liye baja raha hu" (You dont bother hearing it, I'm addressing the rickshaw guy)... I was spell bound and thankfully he sped away before either of us could extend our reactions.

Faint sounds that are imprinted for ever

2009-03-13T16:26:00.006+05:30

Two days ago, I was having juice at a street side vendor. The guy enquired what juice I wanted by pointing at the fruit stacks and repeated "mosambi?" (sweet lime) faintly to confirm that I've said that word. He then served me the juice which I finished and asked him how much it was; But he was busy peeling his fruits and appeared inattentive and so I repeated, but again to no response. What happened next was a flash of memory of distant past.

Way back when I was about 10 years old, at the construction site of our house, there was a worker (eddy), around 25 yrs old, who used to labour in the day and gaurd the site in the night. Our family used to live in a rented house very near to the site and Eddy with his wife and infant son lived in a corner at the site arranged briskly for modest living. My mom use to give him the food leftovers (I think she used to cook more to have leftovers). My sister and I used to play at the site- the sand and the water games. We also used to contribute to the construction by carrying a brick or watering a wall :D. And my dad used to be at peace because he knew strong and attentive eddy would gaurd us.

Eddy couldn't speak or hear and usually came across as a naive one with childlike gay smile stuck on his face. That's how he gets his name- eddy means Autistic in telugu. Some of his co-workers made fun of him and others were indifffernt to his existence, as they usually were to many things around, but his wife seemed to be always caring for him. But it appeared he always made attempts to speak or utter sounds. There was always a lot in his heart that couldn't be spoken since years. Sometimes he could successfully hide his disappointment under his gay smile but other times his big eyes spoke it out.

He used to observe orders through signs and signals and used to convey things the same way. When he had more to communicate- than a job done- he used to really strive to speak and faint sounds as words could be heard. This always intrigued me if he was dumb since birth or some unfortunate accident made him lose his abilities. On sundays he used to come to our rented house and watch tv from outside the door (he used to insist on not entering the house). So when we had to speak, we used to be seated on the floor on either side of the open door with eddy making serious attempts to communicate excitements on his mind.

It was a fun filled challenge for us (we both siblings and our mom) and him to understand what he was trying to say and he used to take immense pride if he could successfully make us understand what was on his mind. Like when we repeated what we gathered from what he was trying to say, he used to clap with uber enthusiasm and throw out such a contentful wide smile that would make any heart sink. His wife, carrrying the infant and sitting nearby, used to hide her face in shy pride at such moments. This went on till the construction of our house was done and after that eddy went his own way.

When my dad was helping with another house construction (of my granddad), there was the same mason and some other known workers but eddy was not to be seen. When we enquired this with my dad, he remarked that Eddy had gone back to his village and from there might have joined another Mason and would be working at some other site now. Hmph! these other workers were no good fun and not warm to children.

So when the juice vendor, two days ago, didnt respond to me, the lady at the next cart said, "Signal to him, he can't hear". I took a moment to reconcile that he did say "Mosambi?" but then I moved on to wave my hand instantly to which his eyes turned to my lips and he quoted the price. I paid and walked away but with a flash of memory of the gay smile of eddy and I was wondering how he would be doing now, how he'd be looking in middle age and where he'd be working. And to which kids would he be signalling and uttering his excitements. His infant son (as I saw him then) would have by now grown up to be a labourer himself for I don't think either eddy or his wife really understood or appreciated that it'd be worth their labour to educate their son.

The faint sounds of the juice vendor reminded me of the faint sounds of innocent eddy. And those conversations across the open door on bright sunday mornings.

Showcase India

2009-03-11T12:01:00.007+05:30

Amitabh bachan was singing from a loud speaker "Holi re holi"... Ohh yea, this is holi morning and I jump out of bed.

My window shows me the Speakers and a DJ (the one who rents out the speakers); white nilkamal chairs and tables with glasses on them (bhaang i suppose :D)... heaps of color packets and a water pipe... all neatly arranged in the courtyard

People not yet to be seen... I get my coffee and sit next to my window ... Then there are kids first... in no time, they all look alike, smothered in colors (all colors) and drenched...

Then come the adults, followed by the young girls... but the girls are waiting for more of them to come... the ladies are smoothly coloring their compatriots... Dont know when the men came and when they got coloured...
Some ppl came in white attire... rest in watever they could put on from their bed...

I walk down from my apartment to the party place trying to fish for some moments my lens can freeze...
"Soni de nakhre soni nakhre"... the girls are doing their amazing shake and twist dance...

The guys are unleashed, holi is their exhibition time... one after the other in their gang is dumped on ground, molested with color and hit with water forcing out from a pipe...

The other side of the road has a war going on... Kids are hurling packets with colour water across a wall at the rival gang from next apartment buidling... "Hahaha shoot miss ho gaya" remarks one and runs away from the target area (the wall) into their gang... The valve at the hose pipe is opened and water is flowing out mildly...

"Jee kartha bhai jee kartha", the girls are in color beyond recognition by now... The kids are ensuring that everyone is sprayed continously with color and water...
A lady gives the tumkaaaa.... the other girls surround her with their shake and twist... "tirikita taana lets dance"...

The guys are still busy changing shape of each other and dearly waiting if the girls wld join them- for colors or for water sport or for dance or for bhaang....

"Nagaada nagaada nagaada baja"

The kids are having their share of fun with their water guns- somehow nothing is more exciting for them than water...
"Dance pe chance maar le" and the water gushes from their gun onto the pretty girls... Ohh how much i targeted the pretty didis with my water gun wen I was a kid....

I was a spectator from across the wall with my camera and this kid observing me since a while hollers out to me "Come on na uncle" (for some strange reason I dint mind that 'uncle' much this time)... I pleaded a tilak shld be good...

He did pump some water also onto me though... "all cool boys make some noise and say... om shanti om"... clap clap clap, twist twist twist... bang bang bang the head...
then comes the real item, the best dance bit hidden in someone gets fired suddenly and showcased in the center of the huddle to a roar of applause and clap galore... his wife hugs him...

Amitabh singing again "Rang barsee... HOLI HAIIIII"

My lens is Satiated and my heart is happy... I walk back into my room and stand at my window again...

"chik chik chik chik... Ring ring ringaa, ring ring ringaaa"..
color, water, drink, music and dance...
"Masakkallii, Masakkaliii... Matakkaliii Matakkaliii"
What a festival!!!

Festive images at
http://e-motion.in/seesaw/colorstreak/

World's biggest ballot

2009-03-10T08:06:00.011+05:30

The world is going to turn its eyes towards India when it goes to vote. Not because of its significance to the world in actual terms but in awe of the sheer size of the exercise- 3 times to its near second, the US.

"A relatively young, considerably poor country amidst significant odds holding on tight to its biggest privilege- the vote. Nehru and team deserve their due place in history for instilling the vote's importance into the citizens."
Ramachandra Guha observed along these lines in his book, India After Gandhi.

I woke up this morning to a newspaper headline that flashes 6 faces as potential Prime Ministers- all regional leaders. It'll be very interesting (and also highly significant) to observe who is going to occupy that PM seat.

We have no paradigm to follow; even the centuries of democratic heritage of the west can hardly be the guiding light. We are huge, we are complex and we are mired in conflicting problems. The world's largest (and most diverse!) democracy should invent its own ways and means to uphold a democratic form of governance.

The regional leader who is going to make the cut (if its going to be that way) with the myriad coalition parties will have 2 significant characteristics- 1) Has a fairly large MPs from his party going to the parliament 2) Is reasonably acceptable for parties from other regions- by popularity or policy or power (due to the lack of national image).

Like they say, A society gets the politicians it deserves.

Meaning from Abstract

2009-03-09T08:21:00.003+05:30

The reverence to religion for one comes from the connection he/she finds between the events in its own life and the preachings in the religion. Buddha remains one of the greatest soul to have ever walked on this earth. Purely because, the things he said almost 2500 yrs ago are still meaningful to most people at most important moments of their life. He preached about suffering in life and the reasons behind it.

"One understands that he causes much of his own suffering needlessly. He looks for the reasons for this in his own life. To look is to have confidence in his own ability to end the suffering. Finally a wish arises to find a path to peace. For all beings desire happiness; all wish to find their purest selves. "

- The young Dalai Lama in Martin Scorsese directed 'Kundun'...

The enlightened souls who learnt to end suffering are called Buddhas in Tibet.
"The buddhas neither wash ill deeds away with water, nor remove beings' sufferings with their hands, not transfer their realizations to others. Beings are released through the teachings of the truth. The final reality."

- The Dalai Lama

What he meant by this, I feel, is that Buddhas only provide you with the path to healing through implying the 'satya/ truth'. This, though simple, has sweeping pertinence across distance and time.
Thats why I guess he is considered god!

But I'm still unsure about my personal stand on religion.

The three dots...

2009-03-08T09:13:00.000+05:30

The three dots that we usually leave after a sentence when we write these days...
Is it a symbol/mark for continuity???
When we were using paper to write...
Not too long ago...
We never used three dots at the end of a sentence.
It was only one...

But now, we have a new punctuation mark.
I guess we have learnt to not end anything...
And keep things flowing...
on and on...
and on...
We hate single 'fullstop mark' now...
But I like it this way...
Because this means more...
As everyone seems to use the three dots...
To indicate to the reader...
Its not over yet until you read my next sentence!

:)

Sagara Sangamam Movie

2009-03-07T16:13:00.000+05:30

I loved this movie when I watched it as a child... I was inspired and touched by kamal's performance, I wept in emotional scenes, I enjoyed the music and dance, I liked the subtle comedy, I fell in love with Jayaprada, and every possible emotion in me was tickled... I watched the movie and watched it again... I shall keep watching it.

It was dubbed into all the major 3 other south indian languages. The tamil version is called 'Salangai Oli'. The meaning of the telugu title can be translated as 'Confluence of oceans' and the tamil title (to the best of my knowledge) is 'Sound of a dancer's Anklets'. The metaphors in the movie begin from the title itself. The movie was written and directed by one of the greatest indian director ever- K Vishwanath. I'll avoid reviewing the movie here but try to express what it means to me.

This movie is about dedication, about love (infact obsession) for art, about friendship that's brotherhood, about encouragement and support, about the triviality of material things (viz money) and how its just a facilitator for higher gratification. The overall feel of the movie is simplicity- the open spaces, the kurta-pyjama attires, bicycle transport, simple meals, small houses... But amazingly it doesnt make it seem poor or pathetic; u can only revere the modesty but not pity it... what a dignified soul can depict in such a way!

Kamal lives and breathes in this role. His passion, his humility, his eagerness, his carelessness for everything apart from dance, and also his artistic arrogance- that's what the movie means to me... He falls in love but doesnt marry anyother after his lover leaves him for another man... He realizes how his mother was the pivot in his life only when she passes away, and this (along with his lover's departure) makes him lose connection with the human world and makes him an alcoholic. The simple, not very intelligent plot but with an extra ordinary characterization makes this movie watching a heartening experience. The classical dances, the innocent comedy, the simple lives, the carnatic music, the affectionate dialogues, the implicit trust in the society- Only someone who has mastered the art of story telling can deliver such stuff that is such an indian tale at heart.

It took me more than a decade of movie watching (of own choice) to really understand what 'All time favorite' means...

Poetic Heights

2009-03-05T17:10:00.001+05:30

A good language is one that can effectively carry varied emotions. Its no intelligent thing to say that English has mastered this by allowing seemless infusion of words from various languages (ofcourse in addition to its own authentic huge vocabulary). There is another language I love- Telugu- my mother tongue, the language i grew up on. I've bugged my friends enough by continously bragging on why I and 'some other scholars' [:D] think this is one of the most amazing languages; but ofcourse some cant see beyond the 'jalebi' script...

One of the reasons for my love is ofcourse the songs written in telugu (where the rhyme and rhythm get captured the best)- 'sahityam' its called. This song below vividly captures a blind man's idea of love followed by a mute girl's response- the metaphors used depict the profound connection of their imagination with their inner vision and sound. A tribute to the lyricist Sitarama Sastry and the legendary composer K V Mahadevan.

I'll use blogger's amazing transliterate feature to write in telugu script and try to have the translation in english for viewers of other language. I'll not be able to capture the true essence of the metaphors in the translation, but I'll try to capture the meaning of it.

[Male]

ఈ గాలి ఈ నేల, ఈ ఊరు సెలయేరు (II)
నన్ను కన్న నా వాళ్ళూ, నా కళ్ళ లోగిల్లు (II)

ఈ గాలి ఈ నేలా...

చిన్నారి గొరవంక కుసేను ఆ వంక
నా రాక తెలిశాక్, వచ్చెను నా వంక

చిన్నారి గొరవంక కుసేను ఆ వంక
నా రాక తెలిశాక్, వచ్చెను నా వంక

ఎన్నాళ్ళో గడిచాక ఇన్నాళ్ళకు కలిశాక
ఉప్పొంగిన గుండెల కేక ఎగసేను నింగి దాక
ఎన్నాళ్ళో గడిచాక ఇన్నాళ్ళకు కలిశాక
ఉప్పొంగిన గుండెల కేక ఎగసేను నింగి దాక

ఎగసేను నింగి దాక

ఈ గాలి ఈ నేల, ఈ ఊరు సెలయేరు
నన్ను కన్న నా వాళ్ళూ, నా కళ్ళ లోగిల్లు
ఈ గాలి ఈ నేలా

ఏ నాడు ఏ శిల్పి కన్నాడో ఈ కలను
ఏ వులితో ఈ శిలపై నిలిపాడో ఈ కళను

ఏ నాడు ఏ శిల్పి కన్నాడో ఈ కలను
ఏ వులితో ఈ శిలపై నిలిపాడో ఈ కళను

ఏ వలపుల తలపులతో తెలిపాడో ఈ కధను (II)
ఈ రాళ్ళే జవారళ్లై ఇట నాట్యాలాడేను (II)

[Female]

కన్నె మూగ మనసు కన్న స్వర్ణ స్వప్నమై,
తళుకు మన్న తార చిలుకు కాది చినుకునై
కన్నె మూగ మనసు కన్న స్వర్ణ స్వప్నమై,
తళుకు మన్న తార చిలుకు కాది చినుకునై

గగన గళము నుండి అమర గాన వాహిని (II)
జారులాడుతోంది ఇలా అమృతవర్షిని
అమృతవర్షిని అమృతవర్షిని

ఈ స్వాతి వానలో నా ఆత్మ స్నానమాడే
నీ మురళిలో నా హృదయమే స్వరములు లా మారే

ఈ గాలి ఈ నేల, ఈ ఊరు సెలయేరు
నన్ను కన్న నా వాళ్ళూ, నా కళ్ళ లోగిల్లు

ఈ గాలి ఈ నేల
--- End----

Translation:

[Male]

The air, the earth, the village, the water, the ones that gave me birth, are all the twinkle in my eyes;
The air, the earth...

The little bird, humming in air;
Sensed my arrival and flew towards me;
United after long seperation,
The charge in my heart beat rose to the sky;
Rose to the sky...

The air, the earth, the village, the water, the ones that gave me birth, are all the twinkle of my eyes;
The air, the earth...

When did the sculptor dream about this?
By which tool did he carve and erect this piece of art?
Through what gestures did he narrate this story?
Thence the statues in stones started dancing!

[Female]

You are the golden dream of my young mute heart
The clink of the star that fell like a rain drop

The music of eternity gushing from the sky
And is flowing like a perennial river of divine nectar

My soul bathes in the raining stars
My heart turns into tunes in your flute

The air, the earth, the village, the water, the ones that gave me birth, are all the twinkle of my eyes;
The air, the earth...

--- End---

Watch a part of the song video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXKFDk1f4Ns

Staring out of the window

2009-03-05T12:25:00.000+05:30

I spend most of my day staring 'into' a window...
I'm sure there are lots of us;
just tat that window is small and funnily can be turned off...

but i love the other window,
the one at the end of my room...
i get up from my chair and take 4-5 small steps,
and i am opened up...
to space;

I always loved this window,
wherever i was and whenever it was;
one opened me to roads, cars, and shops...
the second opened me to the beautiful rain;
another opened me to people walking around...
one more opened me to a river, tat flowed thru the city;
and this one opens me to trees and lampposts...

whenever the small window tires me,
I walk along...
and slowly take that 4-5 steps,
to reach the 'other' window...
and my mind is lighter and free,
the only difference was space...
but that's all it takes;