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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Chota Babu Syndrome

I have written earlier on bureaucratic apathy and how it makes life miserable for the common man. This note is for R.K. Laxman’s common man – the man on the street who also faces the same set of problems though in his/her context. Mind you, the problem’s may seem small to you and me but for these people their problems are real and could be the root cause of nightmares and in extreme cases may result in suicide. This is further compounded by the fact that the common man is not educated enough to take on the small time bureaucrat (the chota babu of my blog) and has to suffer untold mental agony at his hands.

This post is because of the article which was reported today on the fisher woman being locked up in a clerks government office because she had the temerity to ask for a Rs. 5 market tax receipt, when in fact she has been paying this daily tax to the Satpati Grampanchayat for years, but had never been provided with a tax receipt. You may well ask why will she want a receipt now? It so happened that the Center recently announced a Konkan package, wherein fisherwomen would get an annual grant of Rs. 3000. Kalpana Tare, the fisherwoman concerned went to the concerned officer and filled the relevant forms and was asked to come with the daily tax receipt and ration card to prove that she was a fishmonger. Now like an enlightened citizen, this lady went to the Grampanchayat’s office to ask for the receipt which in reality should have been a cinch, but the clerk became so angry that he locked up the lady and ranted at the other fishmongers that they too would suffer the same fate if they came asking for receipts. Till reports last came in, the fishmonger had decided to lodge a police complaint against Dayanand Mhatre, the clerk in question.

You can imagine the amount of money the clerk would have collected and pocketed without providing any receipts – Rs. 5 per day, 30 working days (fishmongers do not take holidays) a month means that the clerk made Rs. 150 per month from one person, assuming ten fishmongers then it would be a monthly cash inflow of Rs. 1500 for doing nothing. The government is deprived of its tax, and I can imagine the reason for the anger of Mr. Mhatre – most likely his scheme for whacking the Rs. 3000 grant on behalf of all the fishmongers must have come a cropper. He must have seen Rs 30000disappearing from front of his eyes. You can imagine the rut in which our society has fallen, for people in seats of power to be living like blood suckers, sucking the blood of the less knowledgeable and weaker sections of society, living of those people whom their job is to look after!

The village development officer said there was an altercation between Tare and Mhatre and hence Mhatre locked her up. What was the reason for an altercation – if it was just the question of giving a receipt he should have been doing it since the time the first fishmonger came and handed over Rs. 5 the first time – the very fact that no receipt was issued itself from day one is fishy business (no pun please). The development officer trying to take the side of the clerk proves that he is also hand in glove – one really wonders how any of these government schemes works – when the people in the bureaucracy from high officials to low level clerks think it is their birth right to grab government aid for the needy!

Manmohan Singh and his new cabinet will need to set up an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure that the aid for the needy reaches the targeted audience. Most of the aid dries up before it reaches the target, as it “leaks" from the time the file moves from the Ministers table to the Ministers PA’s table. With every movement of the file the aid amount reduces, so by the time the aid actually is made available to the target audience, there is nothing left in the kitty! If Rahul Gandhi and the young brigade is really keen on seeing a better India, then they have to start using a vacuum cleaner and “washomagic” soap to magically cleanse the bureaucratic conscience in a way that they start doing the job the manner in which they are supposed to do it – that is honestly! If we get honest officers doing their jobs honestly – I truly believe that India could within the next five years become not only a world economic power but also a military power. All we need is some strength of character to be shown by the entire machinery running this country, honesty – like corruption could have a cascading effect, which cold cleanse the entire nation and its psyche. If that happens, believe me we will have government kitties full of tax revenue, as businesses will also run honestly, without the need to generate black money which as it is goes to pay off politicians and bureaucrats. Just give it a thought and make a resolution not to give or take a bribe. When each one of us decides to do it, the numbers gather momentum then we could have that multiplier effect which I mentioned earlier!

Curry Bashing v/s “Teri Ma Ki….”

The growing and rabid racism being practiced globally and with more recent emphasis to Australia is becoming a cause for concern. India has been a tolerant nation, with an all are welcome attitude, having friendly people to help foreigners feel at ease when they come as tourists or on professional assignments. The culture of “atithi devo bhava” where the guest is akin to God is well known and has been ingrained in the Indian psyche. The fact that more and more foreigners are making India their homes and marrying into Indian families and staying back here is proof of the fact that India does assimilate and absorb other cultures like a sponge. Travel to Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Delhi and Kolkatta and you will see the increase in the number of foreigners in this country – I wonder what would happen if we decide to segregate the Australians and start giving them a bad time as is currently happening in Australia.

We need to do a bit of historical research on the Australians to try and understand why they are so aggressive and sometimes downright boorish and in extreme cases criminal in their behavior. Below is a brief history of Australia from it’s official website, which will help in analyzing their behavior.

Britain arrives and brings its convicts
A number of European explorers sailed the coast of Australia, then known as New Holland, in the 17th century. However it wasn’t until 1770 that Captain James Cook chartered the east coast and claimed it for Britain. The new outpost was put to use as a penal colony and on 26 January 1788, the First Fleet of 11 ships carrying 1,500 people – half of them convicts – arrived in Sydney Harbour. Until penal transportation ended in 1868, 160,000 men and women came to Australia as convicts. While free settlers began to flow in from the early 1790s, life for prisoners was harsh. Women were outnumbered five to one and lived under constant threat of sexual exploitation. Male re-offenders were brutally flogged and could be hung for crimes as petty as stealing. The Aboriginal people displaced by the new settlement suffered even more. The dispossession of land and illness and death from introduced diseases disrupted traditional lifestyles and practices.
By the 1820s, many soldiers, officers and emancipated convicts had turned land they received from the government into flourishing farms. News of Australia’s cheap land and bountiful work was bringing more and more boatloads of adventurous migrants from Britain. Settlers or ‘squatters’ began to move deeper into Aboriginal territories – often with a gun - in search of pasture and water for their stock. In 1825, a party of soldiers and convicts settled in the territory of the Yuggera people, close to modern-day Brisbane. Perth was settled by English gentlemen in 1829, and 1835 a squatter sailed to Port Phillip Bay and chose the location for Melbourne. At the same time a private British company, proud to have no convict links, settled Adelaide in South Australia.
Gold was discovered in New South Wales and central Victoria in 1851, luring thousands of young men and some adventurous young women from the colonies. They were joined by boat loads of prospectors from China and a chaotic carnival of entertainers, publicans, illicit liquor-sellers, prostitutes and quacks from across the world. In Victoria, the British governor’s attempts to impose order - a monthly licence and heavy-handed troopers - led to the bloody anti-authoritarian struggle of the Eureka stockade in 1854. Despite the violence on the goldfields, the wealth from gold and wool brought immense investment to Melbourne and Sydney and by the 1880s they were stylish modern cities.
Australia’s six states became a nation under a single constitution on 1 January 1901. One of the new national parliament’s first acts was to pass legislation, later known as the White Australia Policy, restricting migration to people of primarily European origin. This was dismantled progressively after the Second World War and today Australia is home to people from more than 200 countries.

After reading the brief history of Australia, you will realize that the gene stock of the current crop of Australians is poor – they are basically a violent people because their ancestors were history sheeters, banished from England to the penal colonies in Australia. Even when it comes to cricket or any other sport, the Australians are loud, rude and downright obnoxious and they call it sporting aggression! The abusive language may be a sporting event in Aussie families but in Asia it is considered uncouth. The fact that Harbhajan Singh and Dhoni’s men got under the Aussie skin and beat them at their own game in their own country must have rankled for Symonds to abuse our cricketers – the trouble is these bunch of jokers turned out to be a bunch of sissies when they got their own back in the form of “teri ma ki….” and the Indian cricket team became racist. Wowee!! isn’t that something.... we were branded racists by the people who invented the term! What is all this bashing up and burning of the Indian and Indian property in Australia – the cops are calling it random acts by hooligans – looks like they cannot stomach being called racists… well they are you see…. AUSSIES are RACISTS…so there, it’s done with! Now what?

Is the Indian government going to intervene and make it a big issue? Are the Indians in Australia going to get together and come out on the streets to demand justice? Or are we just going to pretend to be Gandhians and get trampled over repeatedly? The way to do it would be to protest in Gandhian fashion, for one we could stop consuming anything Australian, stop touring that country, why go there for education? The Aussies like the color of the money being brought in by the tens of thousands of Indian students but they do not like the color of their skin….interesting isn’t it. The best way to show this ex-colony of convicts is by boycotting anything Australian!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

First Maharashtrian girl to scale Mount Everest

It was truly inspiring to read about nineteen year old Krishna Patil’s stupendous effort in scaling Mount Everest. The Pune-based Patil was part of a commercial expedition organised by Asian Trekking Agency in Nepal. Patil (25) has become only the second Maharashtrian to conquer the 8,848-metre high peak. Surendra Chavan was the first from the state to achieve the feat, in 1998, as part of the Yadav-led expedition.

The teen went with two climbers from the United States and seven Sherpas. On May 20, Krishna and two of the Sherpas started from Camp 4 at 9 p.m., climbing through the night to reach the peak at 7 a.m. the next day. Krishna was involved in athletics from childhood. Her mother introduced her to tennis, swimming, karate and skating. While in school, Krishna did several treks with institutes in Pune. During her Class 10 vacation she joined a course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) in Uttarkashi, where she secured an ‘A’ grade and went on to do an advanced course. “She became everyone’s pet,” said Ms. Patil.

Patil's mother was on cloud nine when news of her daughter's feat reached her. "My daughter is one of the youngest to scale Everest. I just can't express how happy I am. Krishna has made the nation proud," said Ranjana Patil without a trace of tiredness in her voice despite being flooded with calls from journalists.

Ranjana said her daughter has always had an adventurous streak, and had been trekking and mountaineering since she was in the fourth standard. "She completed basic adventure and advance training courses from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, fetching As in all the subjects."

Patil reached the Everest summit at 7:10 am. Including her, only seven from an initial team of 17, led by Sherpa, completed the mission. The team started from base camp in Nepal, reaching camp 1 on May 17, camp 2 May 18, camp 3 May 19 and camp 4 on May 20, before embarking on the last mountain stretch.

Patil, along with the rest of her team, is expected to reach base camp within two days. "If she feels like it," her mother said, "she will cycle from Kathmandu to Kolkata."

But for her father, Patil might not have been able to join the expedition. When she was not able to find a sponsor, her father, Madhav, procured a bank loan of Rs30 lakh to finance her climb. Thursday evening, he was a contented man.

The point of writing this blog, is that for ordinary individuals to scale extraordinary heights is itself a struggle. The mundane activity of obtaining support from the Government, from sports bodies, from corporates in terms of finance for the climbing gear, and assorted expenses required for completing the climb, is itself a struggle which in the Indian context is probably far greater than the actual grit and determination shown by Krishna in doing the physical activity of climbing the peak. It is so unfortunate that the powers that be cannot recognize or do not have the wherewithal to recognize latent talent so that such talent gets the crucial support when it is required! Apart from cricket, there really is no support system for any other sport in the country – if we win medals in other sports it is in spite of the Government – because of the determination and grit of the individual concerned and his/her family and friends! It is only after the individual has scaled impossible heights that you will find corporates coming forward in tandem with ad agencies with ad contracts! Why cannot these people invest some money in advance and show confidence in the individual making super human efforts!

Krishna’s dad had to scale a financial Everest before his daughter could actually achieve the physical feat. He had to go from pillar to post for arranging finance – everybody from the government to sporting bodies showed them the cold shoulder – it is just the families determination in ensuring that their daughter should not be denied the opportunity to achieve her potential, finally approaching Saraswat Bank for a loan of Rs, 30 lacs which was sanctioned in pretty quick time that the young girl could achieve what she did. What is truly inspiring and should show the way to other potential supporters of non-cricket sports, is the gesture by Saraswat Bank in waiving off the repayment of the entire loan amount including interest in recognition of the young ladies achievement.

It would be a red letter day in Indian sporting history when the Government, sports bodies and corporates set aside parochial agendas and start encouraging individuals with talent to achieve their true potential, then and then only we may see the rise of India as a nation with sporting aspirations!

Financial riches are showered on individual talent only after the individual has scaled heights in his/her chosen field – why is this support not forthcoming at the outset? We have money being splurged on non-events throughout the year – so why cannot we have a body which recognizes and supports specialized sporting talent to achieve their potential? I am sure that if an ordinary person does not have to worry about finances, we could see a lot more of our citizens coming forward to achieve glory in far greater numbers in sports and events which one may not have dreamed of before. It is just encouragement and support which is required – the money is far too little – considering the amount we squander and write off every year in schemes like NREGS and farm loan waivers!

Reference: DNA, Hindu, TOI

Friday, May 22, 2009

Political Dynamics in Coalition Government Formations

The elections are over, the results are out and the Dance of Democracy has entered a new phase – we could call this as democratic aerobics danced to the musical orchestra of the Congress with the baton in the hands of coalition partners – result a confused exercise to musical disharmony. With the DMK and Trinamul Congress – both pre-election allies of the UPA demanding their pound of flesh the dance has now entered a crucial phase – either we have a single conductor for the symphony and a single choreographer to ensure the dance has rhythm and musical synchronicity.

What we are now seeing is something which has been the bane of Indian politics since the era of Indian politics began. The DMK with its handful of seats is seeking cabinet and state ministries which its numbers do not warrant. The DMK has got too money MP’s who are relatives of Mr. Karunanidhi – and Karunanidhi being the good family patriarch that he is wants to see all his relatives happy – to hell with coalition dynamics. Similarly the Trinamul with its 20 seats has asked for key ministries and got what they wanted – at least they have not thrown a tantrum as in the past. We have the NCP, RJD and various assorted parties waiting in the wings – they can’t do much now as they have received a tight slap from the electorate – but their penchant for mischief at a later stage cannot be denied.

One cannot escape the fact that coalitions have come to stay in Indian politics. The need of the day is to set in place laws – guidelines will not work for our acrobatic politicians – which will ensure that pre-election allies are not allowed to change their stand post elections – and if they do, such parties should have severe strictures placed against them. I know that this sounds a bit undemocratic – but if we have a law in place which takes care of all the angles, then why not, it will then definitely be democratic and the law will be passed by Parliament by going through due process!

I am sure the UPA will work out solutions to it’s problems but hopefully the Congress will not bend over backwards to keep everyone happy – the Congress should now show it’s minor coalition partner who is the Boss, but at the same time be flexible and reasonable enough to satisfy all the stake holders. The Congress should definitely not cave in to the blackmail of the DMK or any other ally – because if they do so now, they will be considered weak and will be subject to bullying for the next five years. I for one have not voted for instability – and instability is what we will get if Congress caves in to the brinkmanship on display by the DMK.

The DMK should take what is offered and be happy that they will be contributing to building a nation in the next five years. Let’s hope that sense prevails all round and I hope we have a team in place which will take India forward to occupy its rightful place in World history!

Business Ethics of JRD Tata

Friends, this is an article I came across recently - and it is worth sharing. It explains his philosophy on business ethics. As an internal auditor of one of the Tata Group companies, I can vouch for the fact that the Tata Code of Conduct is followed in letter and in spirit. Deviations are dealt with firmly by the management, resulting in termination of services in serious cases. Do read- this could be an eye opener to many.


The Business Ethics of J.R.D. Tata
R.M. Lala


The life of JRD Tata defines ethics and values in their truest sense showing us that it is possible to create a large, successful yet humane organization.

JRD Tata was the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding Company of the Tata Group of Companies which has major interests in Steel, Engineering, Power, Chemicals and Hospitality. He was famous for succeeding in business while maintaining high ethical standards. Under JRD’s Chairmanship, the number of companies in the Tata Group grew from 15 to over 100. Monetarily, the assets of Tata group grew from Rs 620 Million to over Rs 100 Billion.
In the public mind, ethics in business is mainly identified with financial integrity. Important as that is, the real meaning of ethics goes beyond that. The dictionary defines it as “the science of morals in human conduct, a moral principle or code.” It encompasses the entire spectrum of human conduct. Business ethics lays down how a person in business deals with his or her colleagues, staff and workers, shareholders, customers, the community, the government, the environment and even the nation at large.
J.R.D. Tata was meticulous when it came to financial ethics. When I pointed out to him in 1979 that the Tatas had not expanded as much in the 1960s and 1970s as some other groups had, he replied: “I have often thought about that. If we had done some of the things that some other groups have done, we would have been twice as big as we are today. But we didn't, and I would not have it any other way.”
The well-known tax consultant, Dinesh Vyas, says that JRD never entered into a debate over ‘tax avoidance’, which was permissible, and ‘tax evasion’, which was illegal; his sole motto was ‘tax compliance’. On one occasion a senior executive of a Tata company tried to save on taxes. Before putting up that case, the Chairman of the company took him to JRD. Mr. Vyas explained to JRD: “But sir, it is not illegal.” JRD asked, softly: “Not illegal, yes. But is it right?” Mr. Vyas says that
during his decades of professional work no one had ever asked him that question. Mr. Vyas later wrote in an article: “JRD would have been the most ardent supporter of the view expressed by Lord Denning: ‘The avoidance of tax may be lawful, but it is not yet a virtue.’”

Attitude to Colleagues
When he rang us in the office he would first ask: “Can you speak?” or “Do you have someone with you?” Except when he was agitated, he would never ask you: “Can you come up?” He was always polite.
JRD's strong point was his intense interest in people and his desire to make them happy. Towards the end of his life he often said: “We don't smile enough.” When I was writing The Creation of Wealth, he told me about his dealings with his colleagues: “With each man I have my own way. I am one who will make full allowance for a man's character and idiosyncrasies. You have to adapt yourself to their ways and deal accordingly and draw out the best in each man. At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful but necessary.... To be a leader you have got to lead human beings with affection.”
It is a measure of his affection that even after some of them retired he would write to them. He was always grateful and loyal. To him, ethics included gratitude, loyalty and affection. It came about because he thought not only of business but also of people. In dealing with his workers he was particularly influenced by Jamsetji Tata, who at the height of capitalist exploitation in the 1880s and the1890s gave his workers accident insurance and a pension fund, adequate ventilation at the workplace and other benefits. He wanted workers to have a say in their own welfare and safety, and he wanted their suggestions on the running of the company. A note that he wrote on personnel policy resulted in the founding of a personnel department. As a further consequence of that note came about two pioneering strokes by Tata Steel: a profit-sharing bonus and a joint consultative council. Tata Steel has enjoyed peace between management and labour for 70 years.

Beyond Business
Decades later, Tata Steel workers had received several benefits. Then JRD looked further.In a speech in Madras in1969 he called on the managements of industries located in rural or semi-urban areas to think of their less fortunate neighbours in the surrounding regions. “Let industry established in the countryside ‘adopt’ the villages in its neighbourhood; let some of the time of its managers, its engineers, doctors and skilled specialists be spared to help and advise the people of the villages and to supervise new developments undertaken by cooperative effort between them and the company.”
To put JRD's ideas into action, the Articles of Association of leading Tata companies were amended and social obligations beyond the welfare of employees was accepted as part of the group's objectives. In the 19th century, Baron Edward Thurlow, the poet, asked: “Did you ever expect a corporation to have a conscience?” The answer from J.R.D. Tata was: “Yes”.
Whenever he could, he raised his voice against state capitalism. He never bent the system for his benefit. L.K. Jha recalled in 1986 that whenever JRD came to him when he was a Government Secretary, he came not on behalf of a company but the whole industry. He wanted no favours, only fairness.
In his last years he was very conscious of the environment and industry’s part in spoiling it. He wrote in his Foreword to The Creation of Wealth in 1992: “I believe that the social responsibilities of our industrial enterprises should now extend, even beyond serving people, to the environment.”
The J.R.D. Tata Centre for Ecotechnology at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation was created in furtherance of his desire.
To him India was not a geographical expression; it was people. When he was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1992, Tata employees arranged a function on the lawns of the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai. A gentle breeze was blowing from the Arabian Sea. When JRD rose to speak, he said: “An American economist has predicted that in the next century India will be an economic superpower. I don't want India to be an economic superpower. I want India to be a happy country.”
This was not only his hope, it was also his life. He brought sunshine into the lives of many of us who knew him
Russi M. Lala was the director of Tata's premier foundation - The Dorabji Tata Trust for eighteen years. His book ‘The Heartbeat of a Trust’ is based on this Trust. He has authored a large number of books including ‘Beyond the Last Blue Mountain: A Life of JRD’. He is also co-founder of the ‘Centre for the Advancement of Philanthropy’ and has been its chairman since 1993.

Article first published in The Hindu.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Some Random Thoughts

We as a nation are paranoid if other nations talk about mediation/autonomy/freedom for the state of Kashmir - so why are we interfering in what is happening in Sri Lanka? I can understand that the Tamils have migrated from India and form a large part of the ethnic minority in Sri Lanka – but does that not mean that having chosen to stay in that country they should abide by the laws of that country. Sri Lanka is a democracy, and whatever solution the Tamils want should be within the democratic framework. Prabhakaran carried out a war for freedom which has resulted in the loss of more than a 100,000 lives – he is now no more – so is it not high time to smoke the peace pipe and bring Sri Lanka back to its past beauty and serenity?

There are cries and protests in India with requests from various sources being made to the Indian Government to ask for autonomy for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. I hope the government does not interfere and behave with the big brother syndrome which our neighbours accuse us of. If they do interfere, we will not be able to withstand the charge of double standards from countries not looking for our well being with regards to Kashmir – we will then be on a real sticky wicket. It is best for the government of Sri Lanka to take a humanitarian view of the genocide which has already taken place and make best efforts to rehabilitate all those who have lost near and dear ones, lost property and the means to earn a livelihood. If Sri Lanka requires humanitarian aid and our expertise in such matters, then and then only should we come forward to help.

Yesterday, I had written about US getting stuck in the Pakistani quicksand and how US is also responsible for the mess that now exists in Pakistan – guess what? – Hillary Clinton has reportedly (today’s TOI) said that US has used Pakistan over the years for furthering it’s own geo-political agenda and hence was in large part to blame for the mess that is Pakistan. I have always said what goes round comes round – and in the coming years it will be the US which will get it’s due. It has over the years poked its nose all over the world, whether it is Latin America, Africa, Middle East, South East Asia to further its own agenda, whether oil or whatever caught their fancy at that point in time. They have indulged in all kinds of dirty tricks and used a lot of dirty money to further their own so called goals. Well, looks like Mr. Obama may just oversee the downfall of the US economy in the years to come. I just hope the countless faceless enemies of the US don’t stand up and ask to be counted – in which case the US may face more problems than can be imagined.

Both India and the US are democracies having similar principles and interests, hence it is really surprising that Mr. Obama has so far ignored India. Maybe he was waiting for our elections to get over to start interaction with the new government with a fresh mandate – lets wait and see whether he takes the first step. As of now it is all about penalising outsourcing companies, reducing H1B visas etc. – he should read Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” maybe he will get a better idea on what needs to be done to jump start the US economy.

The convergence of India and US rests just as much on shared principles as it does on shared interests, thus as Pakistan tears itself apart, US needs India more than ever. India matters to virtually every major foreign policy issue that will confront the United States in the years ahead.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Is the US being sucked into the Pakistani quicksand?

Is the US being sucked into the Pakistani quicksand?

I have been reading with some degree of consternation the Obama governments decision to provide economic and “defense” funding to the Pakistani government in spite of credible intelligence that Pakistan is ramping up its nuclear arsenal. For the last decade or so the US and Pakistani military have worked in tandem to enrich themselves at the cost of the US taxpayer. It has been reported in the US press and discussed in the US Senate in the past – but nothing seems to change. The Bush government used to give an annual certification earlier that the funds were being used to fight terrorists, whereas the arms obtained were such that they could be only targeted against India. Not only that, subsequent audits proved that the Pakistani government was duping the US tax payer by providing ridiculous expense statements for re-imbursements which the US kept paying – these audits actually nailed the lie! But apparently the new US President is hell bent on repeating the earlier Presidents mistakes.

There is no denying that Pakistan requires help in pulling it out of the hole that it has dug itself into – but the aid should be with verifiable strings attached – not blinkered aid as is now being offered by the US. The Pakistani aid requirement basket is like quicksand and will just suck the US into it, if it approaches the problem with its eyes closed and hands and legs tied. The humanitarian aid which has just been given –USD 110 million – for the estimated 2 million people who have fled the SWAT valley due to the army fighting the Taliban will hopefully be used for the stated purpose. Pakistani track record on this count is pathetic and so is that of the US in monitoring the end use. Money being entirely fungible it is very easy to divert the aid to activities other than those for which it is given – unless there is a strict monitoring mechanism in place – which is not the case as the US under Obama does not seem to have any interest in doing so. The downside of this is that we in India are likely to be most badly affected if the aid is misused as in the past.

What I personally fear is that in the next four years of Obama’s Presidency, the US will probably get sucked into a deeper and deeper morass as it tries to fight the Taliban and Al Qaida only to find that the money and aid so given was being used to back the protagonists! With the US in recession and in self protection mode, I seriously doubt if it can keep squandering money on a bad bet without verifiable monitoring as it would find itself being sucked deeper and deeper into the Pakistani quicksand. Ultimately they may have to find more money to fight the Taliban and Al Qaida which by then would have been armed with US funds!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Approaching monsoons and Mumbai Roads

I am being forced to write about one of Mumbai’s biggest bugbears again – no choice you see, as the condition of the state of repairs or shall we say dis-repair warrants it! Believe it or not we are in the middle of May, the pre-monsoon showers are expected any time now and the BMC in all its mentally retarded wisdom has decided to start concreting roads in certain parts of Mumbai. Yes, starting is what I said not completing. We have had six months go by since the last monsoon, and now I notice that the BMC commenced concreting a section of the road opposite Raheja Hospital in Mahim! I do not know what quality they will ensure in doing a speed up job, I guess it is just the lure of lucre which keeps these corrupt worshippers of Mammon going.

In the last two months or so, almost every road worth digging has been dug up by some utility or the other. Paver blocks originally laid for ease of installation or maintenance of utility cables, have been removed by various utilities and re-laid. You just need to see the manner in which they have been re-laid to realize that this year we are going to witness massive potholes created by displaced paver blocks apart from the usual damage to macadam roads. Everywhere you travel, you will see the freshly laid paver blocks in narrow strips of two criss-crossing major road junctions. With these potential road traffic stoppers I personally do not think we would require any traffic signals, as these man made speed breakers will definitely bring traffic to a snails pace if not to a grinding halt!

The debris has entered the drains and is definitely going to clog up the drainage system. I have seen debris entering drains in at least a dozen different locations across the city. The BMC machinery claims to have cleaned up the drains in April-May – but what about drains being clogged up after debris has entered these drains post the BMC cleaning. This will definitely have happened as the repair activity is becoming more hectic with the approach of the monsoons, rather than winding down by the third week of May as is the norm.

The digging up of roads is nowadays so frenetic that one begins to wonder what these bunch of buffoons were doing after the previous monsoons. Is it just trying to utilize lapsing budgets or is there a more sinister plan underfoot to bring this humming city to its knees. We have seen terrorist attacks, floods, bomb blasts and a whole lot more, but never has the city succumbed to any of these and has shown its spirit by surmounting all obstacles with dignity without the help of the government or their agencies. The agencies usually come after the disaster. We now have BMC disaster management vehicles doing the rounds of the city – you know the most appropriate place for these vehicles – it should be outside all the BMC offices in the city – the disaster actually is these offices which makes life miserable for the masses!

Do expect lots of flooding this year as well as road accidents due to the various civil works in progress. We have got a stable government in the Center – now it is time to get the BMC juggernaut into shape. It is high time the people started getting involved in the works being carried out – no use saying the other guy will look into it. I was recently in Chennai – another coastal city but what a contrast – clean roads and footpaths – no hutments, excellent roads and it poured when I was there without affecting the daily routine. If Chennai can do it – why can’t Mumbai?

Very few of the projects being executed in the city will have the name of the contractor, the start and finish date of the project and the value of the contract displayed at the site. It is time we start demanding accountability from these people – newly elected MP’s please note – we expect you to perform and make all the people down the line perform. Please do not let us down – we have lived 60+ years post independence on promises – now we want performance! Is that too much to expect?

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Paragliding - my first long duration flight

As our holiday was over and both Pallavi and I had to do our flying tasks we were told to come back on weekdays, as weekends were always crowded. Pallavi and I decided to return on the 12th and 13th of May and my nephew enrolled for the P2 immediately. So we were back at Kamshet and this time stayed at the farmhouse instead of travelling up-down from Lonavla.

Parsha, the youngest instructor was demonstrating how to kite with Vikas another instructor pulling at the risers so that the glider collapses. This was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. Parsha is a skinny lad, but the skill and control he demonstrated with the glider was amazing. For about ten minutes he had the glider up in the air and did not let it touch the ground, I wish I had taken my camera and filmed this for educative purposes. Vikas used to pull the risers and the glider used to start tilting and collapsing and Parsha would pull the brakes and corresponding risers to set the glider right again, this was truly inspiring.

At Shelar, on 12th May we did the trek with the gliders, the usual kiting before climbing up the hill at around 4.30pm for the flight. On the ground, it was Pankaj and Parsha who were helping with the kiting. I kept telling them boss I know what to do, but the body does not listen to the mind. In fact the kids got their ground handling tasks accomplished way before I could, their minds are open and motor skills are fresh and not eroded as happens with the passage of time. I was proud of both the kids in getting their kiting tasks accomplished within a short span of time.

Avi, could not come to Shelar on Tuesday, so we had TJ (short for Tanaji) as the flight instructor to guide us in the flight. Once we were up, I was asked to get in the harness, Vikas helped me buckle up and TJ came to do the pre-flight checks with me. He loosened my shoulder and leg straps and went to talk to another flyer on the walkie talkie. I felt that the shoulder straps and leg straps were too loose and tightened them up a bit and waited for TJ to come. He came and immediately spotted the tightened straps and asked me very sternly in Marathi – “you don’t trust the flight instructor is it, why did you tighten the straps?” I looked very sheepish and said “of course, I do”. We loosened the straps, I spoke into the walkie talkie saying that all pre-flight checks done – ready for take off. As the wind came up, I was asked to raise the glider run and take off, which happened quite smoothly. I had been given a flight path to follow, which was straight out, then take a right with weight shifts and fly along the ridge line far enough and turn back. I was a bit tense as this was going to be my first solo long flight, and the not too confident ground handling had left cobwebs in my mind. But after TJ told me to sit down in the harness, and as I started catching the updraft, I was rising pretty fast and the people below were becoming smaller and smaller. TJ then pretty much left me to do what I wanted.

Up there in the open sky, with only yourself for company, you do not get too many thoughts and can just sit back and enjoy the flight. I flew alone and a couple of times TJ called to say “good decision sir, keep it up”, which was really encouraging. Once I got the hang of the glider I was very comfortable flying it. I did my hands free flying for about ten minutes, turning the glider using my body catching the updraft along the ridge and going higher than the hill. I was now flying at about 1500 feet and the sound of the wind rushing through your ears is something that can only be experienced. There were other flyers in the sky and one had to keep them in sight and remember the right of way rules and fly accordingly. I did my big ears task and 360 degree turns. The big ears task basically involves pulling both the outermost A risers equally, which makes the gliders canopy fold up thus giving the glider lesser area for wind resistance, this makes the glider come down faster, then with simultaneous 360 degree turns the rate of descent increases. After, I did these tasks, TJ told me to enjoy my flight, and once asked me to wiggle my feet if I was enjoying the flight. I wiggled and wiggled and he laughed at that and said enjoy yourself sir!

I flew alone and enjoyed a complete 360 degree panoramic view of the hill side, this is something which I will never forget – wish I had taken my camera. The view from up there is so beautiful and you are alone and at complete peace with yourself. No honking cars no people talking just silence and the sound of the wind, that’s it. Such beauty and peace at the same time, I could have flown on for ever. I was in the sky for over an hour and could see the setting sun. TJ called on the radio to make my approach for landing. One of the rules is not to fly towards the cliff, and while making the landing approach, I did just that, but I thought I was fairly safe and was turning away from the cliff when TJ called and said “sir you are not supposed to fly towards the cliff”. As I had already lost a considerable amount of height, I had to turn around and into the wind to approach the landing target which is a ring with a 5 foot radius and a bulls eye in the center. I was trying to land on the bulls eye but missed the target and overshot by about 6 to 7 feet for a perfect landing. I was pretty satisfied with my flight and so was TJ at the debrief. All in all a wonderful experience – looking forward to flying again soon.

This note will be incomplete without a mention of the flight instructors, Avi the owner of Templepilots is always unflappable, supportive, encouraging without losing his sternness and wry humor where required. TJ, Parsha, Pankaj, Ganpat and Vikas are always there to help and encourage you and correct you. Not once do these guys lose their temper, even though you realize you are making a fool of yourself while kiting, repeating the same mistakes ad nauseum ad infinitum! Kudos to the team and may your cup be full to the brim always!

Paragliding – P2 Novice Pilot course and experience

The long weekend beginning with voting day on Thursday 30th April, was the one booked by me for our P2 paragliding course with Templepilots at Kamshet. We had done our P1 last year in May and this was something I was really looking forward to, as my first three solo flights were absolutely unforgettable. My nephew decided to do the P1, thus it became a long weekend outing for my brother in law and his family and my family.

The P2 is a four day course and we had only three days. The first day was at Pawna Lake site and the wind being pretty light, Pallavi got the opportunity to do the tandem as well as solo flight. Both her first P2 tandem and solo flights were about 25 minutes each. One would wonder why you need to fly tandem – but that is part of the training as the instructor teaches you how to fly the ridgeline to pick up the winds up draft, how to turn using body shifts, etc. The tandem flight is to get a feel of the glider controls and movement with an experienced flyer. After her tandem Pallavi did her solo flight doing quite a bit of the required tasks.

I was on the ground doing “kiting” – which is trying to get the glider up in the air with your feet on the ground and keeping it in the air above your head and controlling it with the two brakes. It sounds easy but is pretty hard work unless you get the technique right. The idea is to flow with the glider and not fight or resist it, feel the wind movements, feel if it is tilting and then apply the appropriate brake slightly so that the glider rights itself and then release the brake. If the glider is tilting left you pull the left brake and vice versa, you move with the glider and go behind so as to keep the risers taut and pressure in the glider cells.

The first day I did not get to fly because of light winds and had to be happy with ground handling and watching my nephew go through the grind. The second day we went to Shelar, another flying site at Kamshet but not as scenic as Pawna. The drive to Shelar is through a 4 km stretch of dirt road, then a one and half km trek with a 15kg back pack (your glider). Once at Shelar it was back to ground handling and then the trudge up 270 feet of cliff side. There were boys (kids actually – none more than 14 years in age) who carried the gliders up the hill for a small fee. They were so small that I did not have the heart to give them my glider, preferring to carry it up myself. By the time we reached the top on Saturday, it was 6 in the evening, and I was ready for my tandem flight. My flight instructor Ganpat, got into his harness, and I got into mine, and linked both together. The instructor is always behind for having good control of the glider, we took off smoothly and he showed me how to fly the ridge. We caught the updraft and rose to about a 1000 feet. The “whooooosh” of the wind as it rushes past is something that needs to be experienced. It was very windy and extremely pleasant up there with all the sweat drying off in a few minutes. I, then sat down comfortably in the harness, as Ganpat showed me the ropes on how to fly the ridge, do weight shifts and turn the glider. We flew thus for about 20 minutes and then landed. I had to go up again for my solo, so picked up my harness and trekked up the hill again for my flight. That being a weekend, there were lots of flyers, and by the time it came for my take off it was almost dark. As the sun was setting, I could not get a long flight, and just managed a 4 minute top-down flight.
The next day, we had our theory session at the farm house, with each of the P2 students having to give a small presentation on the theory part assigned to him/her. I had to speak on the right of way traffic rules and Pallavi on how to demonstrate good judgement and show a level of maturity commensurate with the Club Pilot rating. Both of us did our explanations, we were taught about the reserve parachute which is there and how to activate it in case the main glider collapses and then how to land and roll with the reserve parachute. All this was in a paragliding manual prepared for the course. When I first read the ten odd pages, I thought to myself, this is not for me, let’s go home – as the manual talks about a 100 different ways you could die (I think whoever wrote the manual needs to give it a slightly more positive spin), I prefer dying once rather than read it and die a 100 times picturising the written description in the mind!

After the theory, we again went off to Pawna where we did kiting and waited for the right wind to fly. My nephew did his first solo flight and completely freaked out at the experience. My flight was again a short one, I was a bit tense and forgot to do the weight shifts and instead used the brakes for turning, thus losing height faster than would otherwise have happened. I was in line with my landing target but missed it by about a 150 feet and had to walk back with the glider.

My solo flight and other experiences in the next blog.

Jai Ho - to the Indian Electorate

I had stopped writing for the past fortnight or so due to the fact that our elections were spread over a month, and the sound bites emanating from the mouths of our politicians did not change – I for one did not want to keep repeating the same old tripe – hence the hiatus from writing. In these two weeks since the beginning of May – I went for my P2 paragliding course along with my daughter – more of that in a separate blog, hence writing opportunities though present would not have been too different from what I have already written. But today is a new day, the dance of democracy is over, the results are out and the results just prove that the common man is no fool – en masse they have voted for stability. They have also not given the winning combine that much of a margin for them to become arrogant or complacent – the opposition will also sit in strength – all in all a good sign of our democracy maturing (hope our neighbors were watching!)

I have been a BJP person since the time I started to vote, but this time I voted for stability at the Center – I was petrified of the thought of a Mayawati or a Mulayam Singh becoming the Prime Minister of the country – and methinks the “aam junta” thought just like me. I have had friends telling me that they would prefer to leave the country if people like Mayawati or Mulayam became the Prime Minister and return only if they no longer head the nation! That was the fear psychosis which was prevalent over all the urban centers. These characters add color to Indian politics but the color should remain in the background – the foreground should be left for mature and sane artists! When it comes to the State Assembly elections I will review my options! The BJP also did not inspire any confidence in it’s cadre by creating confusion on who should be its leader. Varun Gandhi came into the picture reminding one of his dad and his dad’s bellicosity. I do not think any one wants the country going back into religion based politics or caste based politics – hence the victory for the Congress who went to elections chucking out their so called supporters from the Left and the so called Third Front. They have definitely reaped the stability dividend.

What I have written above does not mean that the Congress is by any stretch of imagination a secular party – not with the history of Sikhs being killed post Indira Gandhi, caste based and minority appeasement politics that they pursue. If the Congress really wants to be a statesman like political party, they need to carry all sections of Society with them, and yes that includes the so called pseudo intellectuals. Why cannot the country have an uniform civil code? One law for all! We have such a surfeit of personal laws that it makes the head spin. They have the mandate, let’s see them doing something constructive in the next five years.

These five years are going to be very crucial for the evolvement of both the Congress as a political party and the nation which is on the verge of making its presence in the world palpable. There are now no more impediments into decisive decision making with the Congress not having party pooper supporters from fringe parties. They have the mandate and the people to show good governance in the next five years. Dr. Manmohan Singh and a carefully chosen team can ensure that the country continues with its 8-10% growth trajectory and thereby along with China becoming the global economic fulcrum. At the same time we have to have our security apparatus beefed up and ready for any eventuality, because believe me – many people/nations will not be able to digest the transformation of the slowly lumbering Indian elephant into an aggressive Bengal tiger!

There will now be no excuse for non-performance, as the Indian electorate has given the Congress a mandate to perform. Good governance is all that the country wants, not caste based politics nor partisan politics – all states having good governance have returned the incumbent party candidates with a whopping majority – Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, Narendra Modi, etc. People like Mayawati who is on the verge of transforming into a megalomaniac (that is the kind of behavior and attitude being portrayed) was given a slap on her face – and Mayawati being Mayawati – no megalomaniac can be a good loser has ended up blaming the Muslims for fracturing her vote. Now tell me who is communal or secular! Lalu Yadav and Mulayam and so too the madam down south - Jayalalitha - have got their comeuppance! A big JAI HO to the COMMON MAN. He is the guy with the most common sense! JAI HO once again!

Here is looking forward to five years of peace, prosperity, development, growth and poverty alleviation, honest and good governance with India becoming the anchor for growth and stability in Asia and the world. God Bless all the voters!