Stop Talking.. Start Doing..

62 hours. 195 killed. 295 injured.

We have been watching the TV last 2 days about Mumbai Terror attack.. With varying comments like "Man, our security system Sucks!", "We know that it's coming to Mumbai - it's a matter of 'when' - how can they let it happen", "Mumbaikars are so insensitive to burn crackers in such a situation!", "TV channels are trying to make it so dramatic", "Where is Raj Thackeray?", "These terrorists are so clever", "Few dozen terrorists have brought an active city of 2 crore population to its knees"... and a detailed discussion following each comment!

Talk.. Talk.. Talk.. Till we die!!! So, what can we do? Feel sorry for the people who lost their lifes? Express deep condolences? - Who needs all our sorry and condolences? The middle class as usual speaks, feels and forgets after a couple of weeks. These don't matter to lower class. The upper class seeks footage, assesses the material damage to their businesses. People unanimously say "Government has to solve this issue. We are helpless in these situations!" The talk continues - "But you know.. Government is incapable.. It's corrupt.. It gets priority all wrong.. Till we have dirty politicians, nothing is going to happen". Enough of talks.

Not just terrorism. Take any other social issue - Pollution. Poverty. Corruption. Child Labor. The list goes on.. Our talk goes on as well.. Endlessly..

Didn't mean we shouldn't talk - Of course, our words become actions. What I meant is useless talk.. empty speech.. the attitude of being an eternal cribber.. constant complainer! So, next time - when you think you can't make a difference - when you think you are not interested in taking further action - pls dont talk - you can better spend that time in selling an additional pepsi or write 100 lines of software code or serving another customer in your shop - just do honestly - atleast that would serve the country than your pointless talk.

I feel 98% of social work is done by 2% of the committed people - the action people - the selfless people - they just dont have time to talk like us.

In fact, I feel even this blogging is pointless - it's just another way of talking..

From today, let our actions speak more than words!

Black Tiger

White Tiger: Read a fiction after a long time. Thanks SK, BK and Mam for the B'day present!

Gripping. Entertaining. Humorous. Shocking. Infuriating. Humiliating. A roller coaster of emotions while reading this simple-yet-thoughtful book. I quite liked the way the story unfolds; the language, interpretations & narrations - as from a poor-innocent-villager-driver-murderer-turning-into-smart-entrepreneur.

Yes, on one side, I laughed at the sarcasm, wittiness and the humor in the novel. It made me realize some dark truths about India. Thoughts like: 'Come on, you can't do this to them - the under-privileged', 'Man, am I living in this country? Completely oblivious to what's happening to the poor!', 'S**t, the system is really screwed! How & When can we fix it?', 'We need heroes of Shankar movies to weed out these morons - unethical, corrupt and sucking politicians, bureaucrats & business-men' preoccupied my mind.

But on the another side, his criticisms and remarks on India made me rage with anger: 'Yes, I know my country is not perfect. But is it as bad as he portrays?', 'An American / German / Chinese or any other country man will have equally bad and imperfect things to write about. But will they do so?', 'Is this how an Indian has to present India to an outsider?', 'Thanks, Aravind! you have done a great honour to your mother-land. You made us proud of you for winning the award', 'No wonder the sadistic western judges voted it out for booker award - Who wouldn't like bad-mouthing a threatening, rising neighbour, esp. when the expatriate of the same house becomes the messenger', 'Dude - you are giving a very biased opinion!'

I tried to synthesize and resolve these incongruous view points: The very fact that I had the first view point means that I agree that there is mess - yes, every Indian would agree that there is mess. So, in addition to the self-proclamations of "Incredible India!", it wouldn't harm facing the grass root-level reality. Unless we face it, we won't solve it - we would just be in the conceited state. So, let's face it! But, how about the biased opinions? Screw opinions, man! Who cares? How does it matter if a neighbor thinks that there is some problem in my family - what ultimately matters is the happiness & well-being of my family. But my dear friend, it's not shielded any more - In an increasing flat world, what matters are the impressions and opinions - A country portraying itself as 'powerful with big brother attitude' would be successful in ensuring due respect from small boys, another nation advertising as 'safe, peaceful and sound political system' would simply attract flooding inflow of investments. So, "impression management" is very very very important!

"Haa Haa.. I know what happened to all those big big companies which tried to trance people with their false impression management systems.. so, you better be yourself.. people would appreciate known devils than an unknown Gods.. What have impressed outsiders is the ability of this devil to rise among the self-proclaimed-gods and getting noticed.. Yes, a devil with a messy past.. But future is definitely bright.. We may be just be black devilish tigers.. Nevertheless have the power and capabilities of a white tiger.. So, my dear friend, don't give up HOPE.. Let's imagine India and Create ideas for the new Century*"

Thanks Adiga for this entertaining book. Sorry, for being a little harsh on you - But it helped.

*PS: Got to read 2 chapter experts of the forth-coming book of Nandan Nilekani - "Imagining India" - Very promising - Looking forward for it.

Need more proofs?

Moon. Light. Rain. Breeze. Sea. You. 

Yes, they said all these should feature in my first poem.

Can one survive 1000W electric shock everyday? I defy physics whenever you go past me!

I had 1 million thoughts yesterday.. You played dual role in all of them.

I saw a two-petal red rose in my life.. yes, your lips!

"Let's make it Green" became my slogan though I'm not an environmentalist. (Yes, it's your favorite!)

They categorized as 'day' and 'night'. I too have 2 categories - 'Eyes' and 'Mind'. (Yes, the way I see you!)

Thanks waves, for the cheers! One reason why I like bringing her to beach.

Don't you know I'm behind you. Everyone in the college including the professor & the bench know it!

Even my puppy advised me to propose. You would blush if I tell its idea of proposing.

Used to wonder why I was born.. Got clarified on Jan 27th - the day I met you.

Aren't the white long dresses extremely painful? You seem to wear it everyday in my dreams.

Meteorological department can predict rain with 100% accuracy for 1 place in this world. My heart - 24x7 (after I met you!)

I hate attending classes. But I will fight for extra classes, evening classes, weekend classes. At least they bring you to the college.

Let Rahman not hear you laughing. Would use it as new musical instrument in his composition!

I'm happy. I won the bet with my friend. Accurate prediction of what you would wear for a week.

Can a man fly? that too in water..? Been doing in it for an year!

India would be a super-power, if people work like my HEART. Doing double-duty.. sincerely.. passionately.. consistently..

Who said only mouth can speak? Every cell of mine can speak clearly.. yes, your name!

Oye Sun: fire Mr. Moon, appoint a new guy who can beam like you - Her mom keeps calling her after you-set in the evening!

"See all these.. Read them all.. You wrote me all these.. at various points in your life.. I kept it safe so that it would be useful one day like today.. You have been asking why I call you an 'Idiot'.. Aren't these good enough? Need More Proofs??" -- Mrs. Krishnan handed over the diary to Mr. Krishnan. Both had a good laugh looking at them!

ONE Ideology.. ONE India..

What makes a nation tick? Make it leap ahead of others? Bounce back from a crisis?

The overarching answer I could think of is ONE ideology - a common ideology - ONE that binds the entire nation - ONE that inspires every one in the nation irrespective of their age, sex, profession & socio-economic status. Prominent examples where ONE ideology worked would be revolutions, freedom-movements, national war etc. Japan's demolition in 1945 and raising from ashes is a good example. It's similar to companies having ONE sound vision with stakeholders' buy-in doing much better than others.

Ok, let's shift our focus to India. Yes, India has amazing diversity in culture, language, religion and what not, ideologies - I greatly admire and being proud of the same. But is this really helping in the progress of our ultra-capable nation. Ideologies like "My religion is superior", "Need a separate state for us", "THE Champion of Political party XYZ", "Cinema actor fan club", "Reservation for my caste", "Job preference to sons-of-soil" etc are like 16 horses trying to pull the chariot in innumerable directions. Beyond a point, all of these just take away people's time and energy than adding real value to the progress. Wait, by ONE ideology, I didn't mean that people shouldn't have any other ideologies - rather the ONE ideology should be the "primary" ideology for most people - people can freely have N+1 secondary ideologies. 

The immediate questions that pop-up are - 

• ONE ideology stems from the assumption of "progress" being the priority of the nation. But who decides this priority? - one says "progress", another says "diversity", third one "freedom". My opinion: freedom without power & progress is like big empty pot - you can 'someday' fill it with all you want, but when? It has been more than 60 years! Adding 'Diversity' may not help much - just makes the pot - a big 'beautiful' pot.
  
• Does the boundary of 'Nation' make sense in today's 'flat' world? Only 0.008% of India's population works for Infosys. In my opinion, the entire nation hasn't progressed to the level of thinking / talking about ONE world. 
  
• What's the ONE ideal ideology? Is it possible at all to come up with only one? Yes, It's going to very very challenging. But the example of "CHANGE" ideology pepped up by young Obama gives us the hope of YES WE CAN! (the actual execution of the ideology is yet to be witnessed, but getting it right with people's buy-in is half-job done!)
  
• Who will promote, champion, lead this ideology? Who will empower & inspire others to live this ideology? Are our politicians sane enough to think of national interest? Is it going to be business man or a social worker or a public figure or media? Will we get another M.K.Gandhi? Who is the ONE? 

The search continues... 

Little things..

Buzz! Buzz!! It was the calling bell. Half asleep, Aditi's consciousness told someone is at door. She acted deaf to enjoy the extra bit of coziness - curled back into bed thinking 'Who knows I am awake!'. Buzz again! She couldn't act deaf again - door was opened. 

It was Valli, the house servant. 

Aditi sleepily asked  "What Valli? It's just 6:30 AM! Why half hour early today?" 

Valli said "Maaf keejiye ji.. Aaj beta ko hospital leh-jaana.." 

Aditi - "oh, ok. ok.. Finish work quickly and go home early"

Valli began the usual house-sweeping and utensil-cleaning at a brisk pace. Aditi entered the kitchen and started preparing the tea for her. That day was different - She didn't know why she felt so, but she thought she should prepare tea for Valli as well. She made an extra cup.

Aditi handing over the tea to Valli, said "Have chai Valli."  Valli was a little hesitant - "What is this ma? You serving tea for me!". Aditi said "It's ok, Valli. please have it". Unexplainable joy in Valli's face, heartful thanks in her eyes.

Same day. While heading to office in Taxi, Aditi thought "Sometimes we take things for granted - things like - servants are supposed to serve us.. how wrong it could be.. Compared to the services she does for me, what I did was nothing.. It's just a small thing.. a simple thing.. a little thing.. but making a big difference to Valli..  I'm so happy for whatever I did today.. Hope her son gets alright soon!"

Her thought related it to other things in life - "In some way, it's not just our servants, rather the people who love us the most - parents, kids, spouse and close friends.. we take them for granted.. we forget to appreciate them.. we forget to reciprocate their love.. Little things like playing hide and seek with my son.. a funky-tshirt as surprise b'day gift to my dad in 50s.. calling a school friend who admired me in school days - to just say a 'hi'.. yes, little things to me.. makes a big difference to them!"

From that day, Aditi never missed the opportunity of preparing an additional cup of Chai for Valli. 

From Today...

From the diary of Mr.Common Man:

Till Yesterday..

• I WORK like a donkey for my living
• I FIGHT like a dog for my survival
• I HOG like a pig for my growing
• I CHEAT like a fox for my approval
• I PLAY like a kitten for my pleasure
• I LAZE like a buffalo for my relaxation
• I KILL like a lion for my supremacy

From Today..
I am a MAN. Yes, I GIVE like a man to others & the society! Thanks to GiveIndia.org!

Top 3 predictions

It's fun to play the game of predicting future. Let's come up with 3 random predictions for 3 random people..

Super Star - Rajnikanth

1. He will enter politics, quit then and enter again (though will never hold any major post)
2. The next generation Tamil Kids would love to play/see Rajni toys/animation shows - "Ranjnee-Show", "Scooby-Kanth", "Super-Star-Man"
3. His movie "Enthiran, the Robot" will do so much collection that it would take decades and a heavy depreciation of Rupees for the new tamil movie to match its collection

Ultimate Queen - Aishwarya Rai

1. Would have a baby boy who is to be named starting with letter "A"
2. She would venture into Movie production, many of which would have good collections in UK and US
3. She would head "Bachans Foundation" which would soon become India's one of the biggest social organizations

The Wall - Dravid

1. Would play a villian role against the super hero Shivraj Kumar in a Kannada movie (Yes, Shivraj's 150th movie!) which would later be dubbed to all Indian languages. The movie would also feature Cricket bat stunt
2. The "Dravid Cricket Academy" would attract talents from abroad. BCCI would mandate every new Indian player to get coached for1 week to learn the tricks of test cricket batting
3. He would chair the committee set up by ICC for the new format of the cricket called "S-Format" (Short for "Senior" Format). This format doesnt require running or scoring runs - winner is chosen based on S3 - Style, Stamina and Strength

November Twelfth!

(Short Story 2)

"You know, today is a special.", John started.. holding Maha's hands.

"Don't tell me you took bath today!", winked Maha.

"Chup! something to do with our relationship"

"Hmm.. couldn't think of anything.. you tell"

"Gals are simply dumb! boys have to explain everything! It's 143rd time we are meeting secretively in this park"

"My God! You keep track of all these! You beat cricinfo statistics!"

"Yeah, it's women who typically keep track of all these.. our case is just the reverse!"

"Hmm, who decides all these 'things-to-be-done-by-women'?"

"Its our culture! And it's how Venus creatures are designed. Though there are abberations like you!"

"Enough of mindless chat, John. Tell me what's happening with your job search. You don't behave like a 24 year adult", a bit of seriousness in Maha's face.

"Correction - 23! Hmm.. I'm doing my best, Maha.. even yestereday talked to my uncle's friend.. ", the glow in John's face seemed to fade

"You know what.. my parents are becoming very serious about my marriage.. Soon all my tam bhram aunties will begin the groom-hunting-process. I am very scared!"

"Tell your dad you won't marry anyone but me"

"I told you thousand times John.. my family is very orthodox.. they can't imagine any one from other community to be their son-in-law, forget different religion! A mega-drama is soon to be staged once the secret is out! Hmm.. I hope I can initiate the conversation after you have a good job. I am much worried.. But you seem to be very careless!"

"Maha, dont tell me I am not serious - I have never been this serious for anything else in life. You mean so much to me. I can't imaging a life without you. If you happen to marry someone else, graveyard wouldn't be too far for me!"

"Enough John, don't put senti dialogues like these - we have crossed that stage.. show me it in action!"

"Come on, Maha! You saying I am not taking any action?"

"I am not saying so - I am just saying you dont seem to have the focus and commitment"

"Oh.. yeah! amazing! welcome to the world of commitment! The world which men understand and live-by more than women!"

"Why do you have to talk about women in general?"

"Yeah, you girls are just focused on getting things done for you. You never care about how men feel. Have you ever heard stories of women dying for men. Mental asylums and suicide attempts appear only in men's dictionary."

"Love should let people Live, not die!"

"Nor do I say so. It's just an indication of how committed men are! If things don't work out, women would be sad for few weeks, may be months.. worst case - few years.. life will resume normally after that! Men are not like that!"

"Who says all these to you? Don't get all these wrong impressions from movies! Women are more committed than men! We don't check out every damn person of opposite sex in the roads! We dont yearn for 'more beauty' every moment.. We are committed to one person!" - this is Maha

"Hmm, you speak so much! If you are so committed, why can't you just say 'yes' to the registration marriage"

"Come on, John! How can I forgo my parents who supported me, helped me in every possible way for the last 22 years just like that.. I cant run away from home - I would like everything to happen with their blessings!"

"Then, I dont think it's going to happen! Maha, you gotta decide - Me OR your Parents!"

"John, why speaking like these?"

"Because I am seeing so many live examples outside - Gals leaving guys just like thst. Rock solid hearts you people have!"

"You are not understanding John. Most women in our country are made to be dependent on men - father, brother or husband. Additionally, the difficulties, disappointments & betrayals in the name of "love" and "marriage", which we go through, call for higher level of cautiousness, patience and courage!"

"You mean to say that I would cheat you and that you don't trust me!"

"John, I didn't mean that.."

"Then, what? You are just proving the point - women are just pure simple selfish creatures!"
Tears started rolling in Maha's beautiful cheeks.. She just started walking with waterfall of tears "You dont understand, John! Let's just leave it!"

5 years later...

Maha holding John's hands, "John! Can you tell me why today is special for us?"

John laughed "This tracking job gets shifted to women after marriage!"

Maha ignoring his comment said "A turning point in our life - the day which changed our lives! The day which really made you become serious. The day I left you in the park with tears.. the day which brought out the talents in you to get this amazing job within 20 days.. ultimately the marriage of the most loving and most fighting pair.. and the cute & lovely kid named Nitin! The magical day.. Yes, Nov 12 it is!"

Short Story 1

As Ranjan was hurrying back home from office on a busy friday evening in Mumbai, multiple things were racing in his mind - Should I take the train or the bus? Will I reach home in time? Will I disappoint Nandita and Aruna once again? What if that 'stupid, dumb & cruel' manager calls me again?

It wasn't more than 5 seconds - His phone started ringing "Pappu can't dance saalaa...". Oops, what he didn't want to happen finally happened - The Nokia was flashing "Abhishek Nayar". He was in two minds - "Should I pick it up or not?" He built up his courage to shift the phone from his left side pocket to right side without answering the call. Mr. Saturday would never satisfy with a single attempt - "Pappu can't dance saalaa.." again - Ranjan felt like shouting "This Nayar saalaa can't let me be in peace!"

Nayar was blaring from the other side "Ranjan.. Toot gaya.. laptop chaalu nahi kartha hai yaar... this bloody thing is not booting up again.. I told nah - you didnt fix this f***ing thing properly - the all important presentation with Mr. Ratan Tata is in the laptop.. I need to present it today.. Come right now!" Call was disconnected. Ranjan felt helpless. He told himself "I shouldn't have joined this stupid job - IT support in a world famous Investment Bank - All these dumb-a**es call themselves intelligent, but can't fix a simple thing with their laptops"

5 years back, Ranjan shifted to Mumbai after he married Nandita. Aruna, their lovely kid, is one of the smartest kids Ranjan has ever seen. In fact, he believed that Aruna has more computer knowledge than the i-bankers in his office. He loved his family so much. The only complaint the family had about him was his punctuality. "The little one" at home had been pestering him to take her to "Kungfu Panda" - He had managed to say "next week" for 5 weeks. Today morning, the little one, being smart said "I know you. You won't book tickets. And even if you book, you won't come on time. Myself and Mommy going. You just sit with your computer and manager - both of which don't have any brain." Finally, Ranjan was moved - He told Nandita "Let's not disappoint Aruna once again - book the ticket for evening show today - I will be at home by 6 PM" - Nandita laughed "Don't make false promises! It's fine if you dont take her to movie. I don't want yet another story of booking and not making for the movie." Ranjan said in Super star Rajini style "Book pannu. Naan oru thadava sonna, nooru thadava sonna maari" ("Just book - My one-time-telling means 100-times-telling" ;))

As Ranjan was rushing back to office, the above scene flashed in his mind. He thought "Yes, today story over. Little one will behave like a big mother. Wife would wait with a knife. Yes, everything is over!" It was already 5:30 PM. Evening show is at 6:30 PM. Chiding the fate & fat (Nayar), he reached office at 5:45 PM. Nayar was typing something in his laptop while happily munching Domino's pizza with double cheese . Ranjan thought "what the hell is this?" Seeing Ranjan, Nayar said "Oh, I forgot that I had called you. I solved the problem". Ranjan "Oh, what was the problem?" Nayar laughed and said "I went to my neighbors room and tried to boot a laptop there!" Ranjan wanted to kick the sick Nayar. He told silently "Nayar.. Real jackass you are! Thank God you didn't go to your neighbor's house and tried to ..... " Oops, already 6 PM. No time to think about Nayar now. Time to run to house - He was sure he would reach by 7 and would miss the movie as usual.

His Sonata watch was showing 7.17 pm when he entered the house. TV was on - Cartoon Network channel - Tom was getting it left, right and center from little Jerry. He thought "Don't worry, Tom.. you are still better than Ranjan" He sat on the sofa silently. Nandita was cooking and happily singing "Vaseegara.. " ("Zara zara.." in hindi!) He didn't have the guts to talk to her now. He started shouting "Aruna Kannu.. where are you?" - Came the immediate reply "Daddy, dont disturb me.. I am playing in computer - will talk to you later." Ranjan was baffled by the behavior of the 2 girls at home. Came the sweet voice of Nandita with hot filter coffee and aromatic samosas, "Have these.. you deserve them. Don't panic - haven't added anything mischievious in food!" Ranjan didnt know what to do - He started gulping the coffee and stuffing his mouth with a samosa. She said "Slow, no hurry! The movie is only at 9:30 PM"

Jaago Re.. Oram Po..

It happens with Chennai Autowalas - Yes, my blogs. Dusting off my blog after a long time.

Scene 1: Mumbai Airport. Just before the departure of my flight to Chennai, had a conversation with a friend from Janaagraha on their new initiative with Tata Tea - "Jaago Re! One Billion Votes". I am sure many of you would have seen and appreciated the TV ad. The initiative is very commendable for multiple reasons

• Its new approach with the strong message of "Agar aap soyenge to desh kaise jagega!"
  
• Making voter registration a much simpler process esp. by leveraging technology
  
• Endorsement by Election Commission
  
• Support of a corporate body - Tata Tea
  
• Execution by a dedicated Janaagraha team (with most of them below 30 years and alumni from IIT Madras who devoted their career to work for social causes)
  
• Last but not the least, the YOUTH factor - the initiative is to be driven by youth - Yes, true to what Vivekananda says "Give me 100 youth, I would change the fate of the country."
  

It's an excellent case of how multiple stakeholders can work together to begin a new era - a change that many have wished to bring in.

Scene 2: Chennai Airport. Landed at Midnight - I couldn't believe myself for having gotten an Auto from Airport to Nungambakkam for Rs.150, that too without any bargain. Yes, remember Chennai! The driver immediately proved his kindness and honesty by helping a poor airport worker on the way. I couldn't avoid but to ask him "Chennai eppadi irukku?" (How is chennai doing?). The conversations during the rest of the journey were interesting. (It's interesting to have conversations with auto drivers - they mirror the mentality of a common man and they know / see the mentality of many random people who travel in their autos). He began with how inflation is affecting the common man - He gave a statistics, which I never realized and found hard to believe - a tomato costs more than Rs.2! His point was that Government is driving the inflation and that the politicians just suck out people money (whenever he mentioned politicians, he promptly prefixed the Tamil abuse starting with "thev.." - I couldn't resist but to laugh at hearing the Senthamizh!). I decided to listen than giving gyan on inflation. He continued "I may not pay income tax, but i'm paying tax indirectly - from the match box to the petrol. Have these political Bas***** ever utilized the money properly? Look at the roads... For sucking and looting people's money, they and their families will never have a good death." Yeah, I asked the question, most of you have in mind - "You are complaining so much.. what did you do to change it? Did you vote in the last election?" With an ephemeral laugh, he said firmly "I'm 49 years old and have given up voting long time back.. I also encourage my family to not vote." Filled with rage quickly from tummy to eyes, I remarked "You dont vote.. but just keep complaining huh?" He quickly responded "Are there any good politicians or parties here? All are bas**** Whom will I vote for?" He made it clear that he doesn't support any party / politicians and that he believes in just 4 things in life (a) Being an MGR fan, though he never supported him as a politician (b) Lord Muruga devotee (c) Responsible family man (d) Honesty in work. I said "Hmm.. you wouldn't bother about what is happening outside your life. yeah, there are bad politicians.. but you won't make an effort to change things". He replied "Nobody can change these. I can't change the world. I will just do my work honestly and will help the person next to me in whatever small way I can". Auto reached door #9, **** Street, Chennai. Would have been nicer to hear more of his view points about life and politics, but just had to thank and bid adieu to him.

People might be perplexed by the title of the post! "Jaago Re" in hindi means "Wake up" - A call for action from others. "Oram Po" in Tamil implies "Leave way for me" - a typical phrase used by autowalas. In a broader sense, the 2 scenarios depict 2 different ways of living. W.r.t. voting, they imply different standpoints. In fact, it's not just the autowala - lot of people give up on voting saying "No good politicians", "things can't be changed." My good friend quoted this article - she said it makes much more sense to take an economist view and not vote in India today.

So, should we shout "Jaago Re" or "Oram Po"? You decide what you want to shout, but I would make my call loud and clear "Jaago Re"! I strongly believe - voting is not just a "civic duty", "self-interest", "make-a-difference", "feel good", "look good" factors, rather it's the "foundation" for many things. Like a foundation for the building, it incurs a significant cost at the beginning and may not have any immediate perceptible benefits, but it's absolutely necessary for a solid building. Voting may not be a cure-for-all solution. It may not be the ONE step, rather step one for solving many social issues.

So, what are you waiting for? If you haven't registered yourself, go ahead and register to vote at www.jaagore.com and no harm in spreading a good message to others! :)

Saadhveeka

Coach S2, Seat Number 23. Beautiful evening! Mild drizzles, which showered as a panacea for the hot month of May! I boarded the train and it was just leaving the station.

I looked around. Nobody seemed interesting to talk with – A couple talking to each other; an old man noting down something in his torn diary and a mid-age woman reading a novel. So, I continued with Chapter 4, India Unbound. So much information in that book that I had never thought of thinking! Huge price for hating history in school days!

Kreeechhhh…. The train stopped at Thirumangalam, a town near Madurai. It was still drizzling. The evening had almost bid adieu and the night baby was ready to smile with its white teeth, moon.

Perfect setup! A young & beautiful gal boarded the train. Silently, I prayed “Oh, God! Save me from this boring crowd around. Please let the girl come and sit near me.” God wasn’t deaf that day! Wish granted!! I felt heavenly.

She said “Berth number 18”. I thought “Good number”. She sat next to me. She was simply gorgeous! I couldn’t believe my eyes – She was wearing capris a.k.a pedal pushers (For tam guys: Mukka-Kaal Panttu) with clean shoes and a nice sleeveless t-shirt. I wondered how come such a gal from a village. We remained silent for few minutes, but I couldn’t control the excitement and eagerness to know more about her.

I began with a pretty mild voice -- “Hi, Are you from Thirumangalam?” She gave a wired look and replied “No, from Bangalore.” I felt a little awkward, but didn’t bother too much. Quite liked talking to her, so didn’t feel like stopping. Continued “Where in Bangalore?” I think she felt a bit comfortable now. In her sweet voice, she replied “Padmanaba Nagar.” I knew the place but looked a little baffled. She clarified “It’s the place near the famous house of Mr. Kumaraswamy.” Then, I shook my head, as if I understood things. I replied “Oh, Great place, it is! How come in this village?” She was quick to reply - “Came to visit my Grandpa.”

She gave a very brief intro about her. The most striking part was her name – “Saadhveeka”. It was unique and sounded blissful. Fell into love with her name immediately. She explained, “It derived from Sanskrit – It means Some one who is very peaceful and will get everyone’s respect” I was in a double-mind to tell the meaning of my name, since it sounded a little scary, but continued and proclaimed “My name in Sanskrit means Six-Face!”. (My parents were generous enough to add more stuff to my name, which I simply ignored for the sake of simplicity.) She sounded excited (Not sure whether she was surprised or scared! ;))

I was thinking what to talk next. Came in handy, the usual-but-never-boring “What’s your hobby?” I thought I should ask it in a different way and asked “So, what are your interests other than your studies / work”. 1000 watts bulb in her eyes and teeth (We probably could have turned off the lights in our compartment). She talked in-length about her interest in oil painting, glass-painting and some other craft which she does with mud and beads.

During the conversation, I realized she didn’t seem to know much about Tamil Nadu, not even the places near her grandfather’s village. I thought that was my chance to strike the chord. When asked about the places she had visited in Tamil Nadu, she listed few places and narrated random descriptions about each of them in her melodious voice.

When my chance came, I started telling about the places. She listened with keen interest, occasionally blinking her beautiful eyes. We crossed Thiruparankundram. I moved back to show her the temple and the enchanting view of the near by hill, unfortunately it wasn’t visible because of poor lighting. She seemed to enjoy the history & mythology behind the place.

We were crossing the Vaigai River, which to my surprise, was over-flowing with water on that particular day. I explained her some stories behind it esp. about “Aathula Alagar Eranguthal” (Lord Vishnu getting into River) – She got excited and jumped from her seat to get a glimpse of the river.

Lots of conversation and I thought she was pretty comfortable talking to me – Felt happy. I thought, time for some personal questions to her. I didn’t want to jump into very personal questions abruptly – I wanted the conversation to flow smoothly. Since the conversation was on Gods, I asked her “Who are your favorite Gods?”

Was quite surprised and laughed at the response!

“Bal Ganesh, Hanuman and Hanuman Returns”

I told myself “This is the digital age of internet and animation. This is what you should have expected, when you asked the question to a four year old sweet little girl”

No Wonder why the Indian Animation Industry is on a Roll.

:)

How much for Central Station?

“How much for Central Station?”

“Sir, you tell how much will you give!”

“It’s ok. You tell!”

After some silence, with a smile he said, “70 bucks, Sir”

Thought myself “Guy seems reasonable. No need to bargain much!” Got into the auto and told him “Ok boss, make it 60” (It’s a sin to not bargain with Auto drivers Chennai!)

“No Sir, not much business today!”

Yeah, 10 bucks won’t make a big difference to me, but may not be the case for him. So, didn’t talk more about the fare.

“Which route should I take, Sir?” he asked

I replied, “If you are a Vijay (Tamil film Star with huge number of fans following!) Fan, take the Ponamalli High Rd – You can get a glimpse of his huge cut-out of the forthcoming flick, Kurvi; Else take the Mount Road.”

He said enthusiastically “I will take the Mount Road, Sir”

“Boss, please stop calling me ‘Sir’. Also, I am much younger than you!”

Came his next question “Ok nga, should I go faster or slower?”

“I have lots of time. You can go at your own pace!”

I found the guy interesting. After a couple of minutes, I initiated the conversation, “I would like to understand auto-walas – their concerns and a little about their businesses”

He started revealing the secrets – business models, strategy & revenues etc. Though he didn’t use the business jargons, I would say he’s pretty smart in business.

First, he said how much he makes per day –

Gross Revenue = Rs.800-900 (1200, if it’s a lucky day!)
Fuel Expenses = 300
Auto Rent = 150 (Most of the auto-walas drive the autos from Settu – They need to give Rs.150 per day excluding maintenance charges!)
Operating profit = 400-450
Daily personal expenses = 150
Take home = 250-300
All figures are “per day average"

I told, “Hmm, that doesn’t seem like great money for someone who works very hard from early morning till late night. So, why can’t you try to increase your revenue by improving the occupancy rate?” (Yeah, this is what Airlines try to do!)

Came the reply, “We, the auto-walas are bound to a particular area. My Auto, for e.g., belongs to Anna Nagar – In our area, we can pick up any customer. In other areas, we can pick up customers, only if those autos don’t want to pick them up. We begin the day from our area and after every trip we try to come back to our area. On the way, we drive slowly and try to get customers. We also try to take the route of crowded places. After 8 PM, we go only to areas near our homes. There are auto drivers having different schedules – people starting very early in the morning and going early evening; starting late and drive till mid-night; there are night-drivers as well”

I exclaimed “Looks like a tough business!”

We were half-way through the station. After hearing my sympathetic response, he paused for a moment and said “Sorry, sir. Really Sorry, sir!”

He opened up, “Sir, I had drinks today and sorry to drive you when I am drunk!”

“Hmm, what did you drink – Beer, Whisky, Brandy or Rum?”, I asked inquisitively

He tried to justify --“Just a very little of Brandy. Really Sorry, Sir. I had some major issues with my uncle. That’s why drank.”

I lectured, “Yeah, I don’t say you shouldn’t drink – it’s up to you. But not while you are driving - you are risking the lives of travelers like us.”

He replied apologetically “What to do sir, we lead such a life. It’s not just me. 90% of the auto-drivers drink and drive. If you are really concerned, I can get another auto for you, Sir”.

I was astonished with that unverifiable and alarming statistics he gave. I replied “It’s ok. I don’t mind. Next time, when you take someone in your auto, please avoid drinking”

He was silent for few minutes. I guess he felt guilty.

I began the conversation again “So, who are the major pain-points and competitors for auto-drivers”

“Traffic police and share-autos”, came the immediate response!

He continued, “Share-autos charge 5-10 bucks per passenger. People who want to travel in the main roads have almost ruled-out using expensive autos. We can take only interior & long routes that these guys don’t cover”

I thought myself – The share-autos ensure that their vehicles run continuously – Theirs is a high volume business and normal-auto is a high margin business.

I told him “Yeah, added to that MTC (the Govt. owned metro buses, which are very economical) is planning to introduce the hugely successful 'mini-buses' concept in Chennai, I was told 1000 of them!”

He was smart -- “Yeah, it would affect our business to some extent, but share-autos would be heavily affected. It’s their direct competitor!”

I was about to reach the station. I just wanted to conclude the talk with some food for thought for him. “You could reduce your personal expenses by nearly 50%, if you reduce taking drinks. Your take home salary per day could increase as much as Rs.50." Keeping a serious face, he replied "Sure, Sir. I will try to reduce drinking."

I concluded "Have you heard of this Rs.1 lakh car by Tata. Once it’s available, will you buy one and start driving it instead of auto?”

I didn’t expect that reply from him.

“I am completely aware of that, Sir. I am a mechanic myself and have a diploma in the same. In fact, I was the proud owner of a reasonably big car mechanic shop – we did all sorts of things – servicing, painting, repairing.. everything!! But.. but.. unfortunately, I encountered a huge loss of more than 5 lakhs rupees and I had to close down the shop. So, I resorted to driving a rented auto”

We were in front of the station. I was very much interested in knowing the reasons for such a colossal loss, but time and the place didn’t permit. I just handed over 70 bucks and patted on his back saying “Don’t bother, your dream business will prosper soon. All the best!”

With bright eyes and smiling face he bid adieu “Thank you very much, Sir!”

Mind Trading

In B-schools, you are asked to wear others' shoes, esp. when you are analyzing case studies. In Edward De Bono's lateral thinking, you are required to wear different hats. I am sure, most of us would be receivers of "Can't you sympathize with that poor fella?", "Why don't you empathize with me?!", "Think from my perspective." Hope all of these would help in better understanding of people and the situation.

8 PM, last Wednesday. The dinner plan with my friend didn't materialize, my bike got punctured and the auto-walas in front of the Bangalore Central asked insane money for a 5 km journey. Decided to experiment something - Walk till Trinity Circle, explore people and places on the way & travel in the local crowded bus. Quite an interesting experience it was!

Walkers, Riders, Pillion-Riders, Sleepers, Road-Side Enterprises - the aggressive entrepreneurs and its loyal customers, Beggars, Traffic Police, Poojaris, Auto-walas... I told myself "Let me play the Mind-Trading-Game" - When I see a random person in the road, try to think of what might be running behind his mind - his joys, worries, concerns, ambitions, objectives etc in life. Most people seem to be lost in thought. I guess they don't even realize they are walking in M.G.Road or crossing the ING building. But apart from the usual ones, there are lots of interesting observations!

Next time, dont tell you are bored when you have to travel all-alone or when you have nothing-to-do at home. Just take a walk and start noticing people around! It's interesting & fun!!

Paanch Punch Pics

4 days. 5 Movies. Finally, moved them from my 'TO-WATCH' to 'WATCHED' list - Taare Zameen Par(TZP), Jodha Akbar(JA), Jab We Met(JWM), Page 3(P3) and U Me Aur Hum(UMAH). Yes, they had been lying in the former list for quite sometime (except the last one).

Quite liked all of them. Different themes. Different actors. Different levels of seriousness & fun. TZP took me to the world of children. JA to the period of Moghuls. P3 to the lesser-known side of few Mumbai cliques. JWM to Punjabi marriages & running trains. UMAH to cruises and asylums. Hmmm.. but is there anything in common among these movies? Apart from the obvious factor of being bollywood movies without the usual masala stories, I found the following interesting connection.

In all movies, the characters face tough-to-handle life problems - TZP: Problem of a child & its parents, JA: Political problem, Page3: Social problem, JWM: Pre-marriage problem, UMAH: Post-marriage problem. But they all try to handle the problems in an UNCONVENTIONAL manner.

• TZP: Ask the basic question "Is what you call a 'problem' really a PROBLEM?" and most importantly try to understand the so-called-problem from the 1st person. Find the root cause of the problem. Try to solve root cause than reacting to the symptoms.
• JA: Collaboration instead of head-on competition & fighting to solve the problems. Yes, I mean Akbar's approach of hindu-muslim cultural synthesis & collaboration - including Hindus in the courtyard, marrying Hindu princesses (seems like Akbar had 40 wives! Gowarikar, can we expect movies like - Akbar Jodi No. 23 ;)] etc
• P3: Be part of the system, while you want to reform the system.
• JWM: A cool attitude simplifies the problem and a better way to handle it. (So, the next time someone dumps you, burn & flush it out OR use your friend's phone to call the person and you-know-what-to-talk)
• UMAH: Never lose hope in solving the problem. When there is love and that you are determined to solve the problem, you would solve it. At least, you would learn to live with it.

Also, impressed with the kind of PATIENCE that the characters show in solving these problems. Any difficult problem needs time and continuous effort to be tackled.

Mentoring Mentality

Experience is the best teacher in life! Yeah, but life is too short to experience everything in first person! So, fortunates are the ones who get right mentors. These mentors have the ability to positively impact our lives – They guide, motivate, direct, suggest, enlighten, correct, criticize, comment and most importantly share their experiences! The extreme case: they become our living role models. But getting the ‘right’ mentor is not that easy – He or She needs to (a) Understand you (your personality, ambition, likes & dislikes etc) (b) Understand (and have good experience & insights in) the environment / field in which you would like to be mentored (c) Have good people skills & a genuine willingness to help without selfish motives (d) Time (e) Have a reasonably long term association with you (i.e. doesn’t make sense to have different mentors every other month!)

I set my mind to think on “Apart from satisfying those hard-to-meet conditions, how can we get the right mentor?” Few tips I could think of:

• Be open and “listen” to what people have to say for me, be it my workplace, home or any social groups
• Initiate talks with senior / elder people – Seek their advise, Listen to their experiences
• Choose people whom I have high regard for – Unless I respect him, it’s tough to follow what the mentor says
• Do the conversations with him make me think deeply? Do they change my perceptions or course of actions which ultimately yielded positive results?
• Am I able to connect with the person?

Oops, I had so many people helping and guiding me at different points in life, but what about life-long mentors? I couldn’t think of any one other than my sister. Hmmm, I guess I should take the initiative, as the Tamil proverb says “Crying child gets the milk”.

Couple of things before I close down: Seek mentors’ help, use their advice, but preserve your individuality and the ability to analyze & make a personal decision. Be willing to genuinely mentor and help others, since the world runs on the principle of GIGO (Good In Good Out / Garbage In Garbage Out)!

Begging & Payer's Dilemma!

Two parties. One transaction. Different levels of exchange. The world runs around this simple funda! Few examples: Ideal Business - mutually profitable with equal exchange. Donation & true love - Giving without expecting anything back. Greed - Expecting more than what you give. Stealing - Taking without the knowledge of the counter-party. Begging - Getting without any obligation!

Similar to Prisoner's dilemma, (With 2 players, optimal solution is possible with cooperation. But the players end-up with a sub-optimal solution due to lack of trust, since trying to cooperate when the other competes has higher penalty!) Payer's dilemma is a major issue - Yes, both might lead to suboptimal solutions.

Payer	Beggar
		No need to beg	Need to beg (and he begs!)
	Don’t pay	Ideal, if Beggar resolves not to beg	You didn’t help the needy!
	Pay	Laziness supported & beggar gets free lunch, if he decides to beg	Sub-optimal, but might be inevitable

The dilemma is to pay or not - by paying a beggar, am I helping him? Or is that I am promoting begging as a profession and impede his learning of any skill? It's a very tricky situation! But it's clear that begging is good for none: Beggar - no descent lifestyle, no sustained income, he doesn't develop any skill; Payer - Loses money without getting any service in return; Country - No net addition to the GDP. Hmmm.. Seems ideal to have no begging. Is it possible? If so, how? Will a ban on begging help? To answer these, we need to answer the very basic question - why does he beg?

People beg because of (i) Incapability - physical or mental (ii) Unemployment - Unfit for existing jobs or unavailability of jobs (iii) Laziness. [There is a fuzzy fourth category, predominantly that of monks who does it in the name of spirituality - Some genuine monks beg because working for a living is inferior to them; fake monks will come under the "laziness" category. This fourth category goes beyond the scope of this post!] Among these, lazy beggar is the troubled category - the payer's resolution is simple (it shouldn't be supported) but the solution is tough - You can take a horse to water, but never make it drink, esp when it has determined to not drink! Also, it's not possible to differentiate the beggars - lazy beggars hurt themselves or lie or put up a false image to earn people's sympathy. Yes, "information asymmetry" problem!

Looking at the reasons, two things become clear. First, a simple ban might not work - it might backfire with still worse consequences (a banned beggar may die / suicide or turn into a thief / anti-social element) and/or turn out to be ineffective (It would be a rule on paper like the prohibition of smoking in public in Chennai). Second, the beggar is not the sole reason for begging - the payer, the society and the government are all parties to it. Unless there is a concerted effort from all, it's tough to uproot begging.

I believe the begging problem can be reduced (if not eradicated) gradually in 2 stages (if not overnight):

1. FIRST, Slowly and gradually move the existing beggars away from begging pool
• Plan and create "Beggars Rehabilitation Program" with funding and support from Government, NGOs and Wealthy individuals (if required, add a new cess for income exceeding a certain limit). Register all the existing beggars in every town, city and village under this program
• Categorize the beggars - The "incapable" has to be sent to the corresponding NGO or Government sponsored helping homes; The "unemployed" should be arranged for skill-development programs; IT could be leveraged to create a database of these people and it would be an ideal CSR initiative for companies to employ people from this database. Lazy beggars should be given strict warning to not beg, else face severe punishments (Remember the Tamil movie Anniyan!)
• The program could also create centers in every town (similar to government departments or NGOs) - People who want to help the beggars should donate to the centers than directly to the beggars to avoid the "information asymmetry" problem.
  
2. SECOND, Stop the inflow of people into begging population
• This calls for bigger things - Efficient, Good & Incorrupt Government; Zero Child Labor; Marginally Low (Zero is bad for economy!) Unemployment
  
• Build / Improve homes for "incapable" category & "skill-development" centers
  
• Set a future date for complete elimination of begging
• Creation of Beggar's helpline - If you happen to see a new beggar, call them up!

All of these may seem ambitious, but where there is a will, there will be a way!

I am sure government officers, politicians, people dedicated to & socked in social service would have better information, context and ideas to make a beggar-free India than this computer-science & management graduate. I wish they come forward to make it a reality! :)

Force called 'Fear'

Utter Darkness. Bottomless Pit. Sky-high hill. Ultra-speed wind. Abyssal Ocean. Mysterious Sound. Poisonous Snake. Hungry Tiger. Angry Elephant. Man-eating Shark. Black Cat. Giving a Speech. Final Exam. Important Interview. Ghost. Skeleton. Blood. Death. List goes on! For human beings, the entity that unifies the list is "Fear" and its related cousins viz phobia, panic, scare, terror, guilt, paranoia, nightmares, anxiety & worry etc.

The list is understandable. But I was baffled by my friends' fear for getting into 3-ft H2O, jumping from 4 ft height, riding on 100cc bike at 60 kmph, climbing on a small rock, talking to a Prof & walking in darkness. "WTH", I thought. But my friend gave a profound statement - It's quite natural; everyone has his/her own customized list of fears and no fear is inferior or superior. Yes, it made sense and I tried to enumerate my list - Oops, quite a long one! (Let me not list them here to make you realize how stupid my fears could be!)

Three questions kept lingering in my mind: (1) What exactly is fear? (2) Can one be fearless? Rather, should one be fearless? (3) How to avoid unnecessary fear? Being an expert neither in Psychology nor in Physiology, I can't give a comprehensive scientifically-proven answer. Neverthless, I will make an attempt, since people keep saying "Don't fear" [Nice tamil quotes like - 'Anjathey', 'Accham Thavir', 'Accham illai, accham illai, accham enba-thillaieh; Uchi meethu vaan idinthu veezh-gindra pothilum accham illai', 'Accham enbathu madamaiyadaa, anjaamai dravidar udamaiadaa']

I would explore Fear in 2 different ways. First: fear spans past, present and future. Foundation of fear is PAST - We start developing fear out of our personal experience or what others tell us. That way, our society, upbringing, parents and friends play a major role in what we fear for. When your father keeps saying "Never climb rocks. You will slip down", you inherently develop a fear for rocks & heights. (Side Note: In Tamil movie "Thenali", the hero Kamal Hasaan has countless phobias thanks to his bad childhood experience) Going by this logic, fear is not completely natural to human beings. Fear is an experiential emotion in PRESENT - there are lots of physical & psychological changes that happen when we fear. Fear is associated with uncertainty about FUTURE. When there is certainty, there isn't any fear - A person sentenced to death knowing the exact date, time, place and the procedure of dying won't fear for death as much as a normal person. Second: Major stems of fear - (a) Fear of Death / physical discomfort (b) Fear of Rejection / Failure (c) Fear of losing one's respect / ego / identity (d) Fear of losing an external entity (e.g. loved ones, money, motor bike)

Like many others, fear is a double-edged sword. Being fearless is great, but it's stupidity to believe we shouldn't fear for everything. In one sense, fear stifles our improvement, fends off taking bold decisions, avoids changes & exploring new paths, obstructs stretching oneself. It eats away our productive time, brings in stress & tension, makes us poor-performers (esp. because of stress & tension). At times, it makes us behave unnaturally. On the other hand, fear drives away our laziness, makes us careful creatures & good future planners.

So, the key is to differentiate necessary & unnecessary fears. Fear of punishment (e.g. murder, robbery, copying in exams etc.) goes to "necessary" bucket i.e. always fear to do wrong. Clear "unnecessary" categories: things on which we don't have any control (e.g. earth would be hit by a meteor, germs in your just-cleaned hand etc); hiding our true personality (e.g. fear that someone will stamp us ignorant) - i.e. no need to fear for being natural & ourself; unproven & non-experiential stories (e.g. darkness, ghosts etc). [Just reminded of this: the phrase "God fearing" is an excellent selling point for Grooms in matrimonial advertisements. My belief: "fearing God" goes to the "unnecessary" category. Unless you experience , don't fear, instead pray Him out of Love, if you believe in God. Once you experience, it's your choice!] The problematic area is the gray section - E.g. Fear of exam is both good (makes you study at least 1 day before the exam) and bad (tension leading to poor performance!), Fear of death - Good (insurance for your dependents) & bad (Never makes one enjoy the exciting white water rafting, mountain climbing). In such cases, try to answer whether the fear helps or hinders the improvement / experience / enjoyment of self & others. To summarize, the litmus test to differentiate the fears - (a) Punishable? (b) Not controllable? (c) Being yourself? (d) Unproven & Not experienced? (e) Helps or Hinders?

Half the job is done with the differentiation. Nevertheless, the 2nd half is not that easy. Fear might emerge from our subconscious mind and hence simply telling ourself "don't fear! don't fear!!" at the surface level may not help. Head-on fight with the fear or denying the reality might not help. First, we need to be aware that we fear, observe the sensations because of fear. Few ways to tackle the fear: (a) From the PAST angle - awareness that fear is unnatural & is shaped by just our experience and that there are many other people who don't fear them; don't believe everything that we hear, read and see (b) From PRESENT - Engage in some activity that we like; Pass on the fear to someone else - God / Guru / Our loved ones / Our Higher self, if we believe any of them (c) From FUTURE view point - Big picture view - will my fear help in anyway to serve a higher purpose; Awareness that the uncertainty can't be ruled out because of our fear & that we can't take control of everything; Realize that it's just uncertainty, outcome is not yet known, one can worry if the outcome turns out to be negative instead of worrying about it even before it has happened. Another way is to understand the stem of fear and tackle it: (a) Death - everyone will die one day (b) Failure / Rejection - What's life without ups and downs - Trying & failing is a lot better (c) Ego - Better to be a known devil than an unknown god (d) Losing external entity - one doesn't even have complete control on oneself; Nothing is permanent in this world.

Yeah, similar to many of my earlier posts, all these methodologies seem simpler on paper, but it needs lots of effort and prudence to be fearless than being driven by the Force called Fear.

Hampi "Rocks"

With most of my trips in the past, I would be dead tired during the return journey. The last trip to Hampi has been an exemption - Felt rejuvenated after the trip. Yes, it's yet another enjoyable trip with lots of fun with friends, but the interaction with nature & historic ruins is different! The weather was just perfect - It started drizzling the moment we boarded the train and the nature continued its cool shower throughout the trip. The experience of lying on the rocks by the river side with mild drizzles, pleasant breeze, sun playing hide & seek with moving gray clouds and absolute silence except the occasional chirping of birds and the rhythmic flow of water in the near by river is something beyond comparison!

I can't do justice to the greatness of Hampi through this post, but still my 2 Paise. :) I was simply amazed by the countless number of temples built of gigantic stones with beautiful carvings & etchings. Most of the temples were missing the vigraha (the statue of the main god in the temple) & many other statues were beheaded - Yes, seems like the temples of Hampi, the capital of once prosperous Vijayanagar Kingdom were destroyed after the kingdom was captured by Muslim Sultans. These days, people don't give due spiritual significance to most of these ruined temples, since the main vigrahas are absent - Good in a sense that these are not crowded, the beauty is not destroyed in the name of rituals! We saw some temples being excavated and recreated. In fact it's not just temples, but the entire city from queens' bath to the elephant's stable to the bazaar to the tank to the palace seemed to have been built in stones with highly artistic sense.

Seems like Hampi is not yet exploited in the name of tourism - The ruined town still looks desolated without much crowd - but that's what makes it more exciting! You can be at peace with the nature and ruins - We didn't bother to visit all the places of historic significance, but wherever we went, we enjoyed spending hours in peace! Few places we enjoyed the max and you should never miss if you visit Hampi:

• Virupaksha Temple - The main temple near the bus stop & the Hampi Bazaar - [One of the very few monuments still regarded as temple by people. Tit bit: Don't be deceived by what's called the "inverted image" of gopura - it's just a painting in a dark enclave!]
  
• Hemakuta Hill - Series of structures built on a hill - Simply awesome to have a walk over the hill. You start from the sides of Virupaksha temple and end it near the monolithic Gorgeous & Gigantic Ganesha statue!
• Vittala Temple - Need to travel 12 KM from Hampi centre. It turned out to be my favorite monument in Hampi - esp. the stone chariot and the astonishing stone pillars used to make musical tones.
  
• Palace & the Mint - Don't expect a leela palace here, there are just remains of the place. Also, I believe they are just rebuilt from the excavations. It takes 10 mins to just travel the entire area by bicycle.
• Dibba - Center of attraction of the royal enclosure, a tall pyramidal structure (Top portion seems to be missing & one climb to the top!) - Gives an amazing view of the surrounding enclosure
• Tungabatra River - One can reach the river either from Rama temple or Purandaradas Mundapa (near Vittala Temple) - The river was just pleasant when we visited, neither gushing nor dry. Coracle ride and river side walk are never to be missed!
  
• Mango Tree Restaurant - The only restaurant that we liked in Hampi. It gives a panoramic view of the river and you get to eat under a mango tree with nature's intimacy!
  

Hampi may not sound exotic for people who don't have a flair for history or monuments. But it's not case - Apart from the river side walk, coracle ride & bouldering opportunities, one can't escape falling in love with Hampi's rocks & ruined creations from stones! Yes, Hampi rocks!!

One should definitely experience Hampi at least once in life!

Mobile Business

As of Sep 2007, there are 210mn mobile subscribers in India and is expected to go up by 300mn by 2008, which translates to 25-30% mobile penetration - pretty impressive for a once-termed "poor country". From a school student (Knowledge Management, Strategic Planning for homework) to auto-walas (Customer Relationship Management) to street-shop-vendors (Supply Chain Management), mobile is a big boon - It has fundamentally changed the way certain people do business!

Wait.. the post is not about mobile phones, rather about interesting "mobile business" in the world's largest Railways network - Yes, within moving, day trains of Indian Railways. Yeah, they offer various categories of products: (a) Eatables (Major chunk!) - full-time food, beverages, snacks, fruits; (b) Entertainment / play items targeting children; (c) Personal care - Flowers (yes, women in south India like to get down from train fresh with flowers), (d) Fancy products like bangles, ear-rings, key chains etc; (e)Education / Recreation - Books, newspaper, magazines; (f) Textiles.

Apart from food, all the other categories are sold by hawkers. Selling process is heavily dependent on the impulsive buying behavior. Here is a sample: books by small local publishers (printed in cheap paper, priced Rs. 10-20, with attractive titles for a typical middle class) and pirated DVDs - the selling process is quite interesting - Seller brings a bundle of products & hand it over to you saying you don't need to buy but can just flip through them. Three problems with these businesses: (1) Unlawful, since no permission from Railways (2) Disturbance to travelers (3) some are sub-quality products. The other side of story is different: it's rice & rasam for poor fellows doing these businesses; good & useful time-pass for travelers (esp. for the Indian middle class which doesn't spend much time on shopping! - But metro women are fast catching up with people abroad!!). So, rather than banning them altogether, Railways can promote them after carefully eliminating the problems.

So, here are few suggestions:

Simple:

• IRCTC has done a wonderful job w.r.t. food - they can extend it to other categories
  
• Strict rules to prohibit the sale of unlawful products like pirated DVDs, books etc
  
• Provide movable trolleys for the sellers
• Have big TVs similar to buses
• License to sellers of different product categories
• Sell those frequently used in trains - locks, chain, tooth brush, playing cards etc
  

Ambitious:

• Dedicate a coach or a part of it as "Mobile Shopping" - Have mini-shops as in exhibition - People can walk in for shopping during travel
  
• "Movie Theater Coach" - Designate and design a coach as theater running multiple shows per day - People can get tickets for the latest movie shown in the mobile theater
  
• Short education / training / seminar sessions - e.g. cooking, oil painting, basic computer, spoken english, personality development, yoga, meditation, dance, table etiquette, vedic mathematics, abacus
  
• Mobile Restaurant
• Aquarium, museum, gaming zones etc
• Library / Reading room / Book shop
• Recreation hall with chess and other board games
• Spa / Massage, beauty parlor
  

Yeah, all these sound exciting, but economic viability & customer interest are questionable and hence needs a more thorough analysis. Even more pertinent question to ask is "will Railways be able to implement and maintain them well?" [We all know of one service which is maintained very badly in every coach! ;)]

All these are fine and might get implemented in future, but one should never miss the beauty of country side and the fun of watching innumerable interesting things sitting in a moving train! :)


PS: Shall explore business opportunities in stations/platforms in a different post!

e-motion

Hmm.. 3 months break! Plan for roaming, traveling, catching up with friends, doing something useful.. Oops, still left with free time. Ok, resort to Blogging! Decided the following guidelines for blogging (a) Regular, frequent, crispy posts (b) Avoid non-sense just for the sake of humor (c) Try some thought-provoking-stuff. Here goes the first!

There was a time when "e-" was prefixed to every damn thing to signify the usage of internet: e-business, e-tail, e-ticket, e-commerce e-tc. But there is word to which 'e-' was added long before internet was known. It's e-motion - the motion has nothing to do with internet nor is this way of splitting right. Ok, with that intro, let me get into the actual post!

My PG farewell hasn't been as senti as UG's. I told myself I am more matured & less emotional now - esp. accepting that changes are part of life. But... Recently visited CEG, my UG college - went alone since it was a weekday (office time for friends!). After meeting my favorite profs, spent 1-2 hrs roaming in the campus. It is tough to explain how I felt - something within me seemed to resonate with the buildings, class rooms, trees & hostels; heart felt a little heavy; preferred walking slower (and sit at every place); had a feeling of having left something. Hmm.. So, it has probably to do with the impact that the place has created than the change in myself.

Many a times, I used to think that being emotional is a sign of weakness - We tend to lose the true picture, get driven by impulse from inside - makes us more dependent on outside entities - brings to us sadness, disappointment & frustrations when expectations are not met. Does that mean being senti is all bad? No is the obvious answer - Without emotions, life will be robotic, dull, boring and without any force. Shouldn't force-ful life be a sign of strength and not weakness? Also, emotional drive might work better than rational drive in certain cases (e.g. Gandhi Vs Hitler?). Most of the Entrepreneurs and many of the high-achievers are driven by emotion. So, it's easy to derive that one needs to balance emotional and rational drive, but implementation is not that easy. It needs prudence, real wisdom, full consciousness of onself & everything around us - Will post an entry, if I invent a formula for balancing! :)