God's Own Country???

A friday evening is always a pleasant time. But it was not so that friday evening during my training days. Our postings were out. I saw the list and was shell shocked. I had been posted to Trivandrum. I just sat there not knowing what to do. Tried to find someone who could swap locations with me but even ppl from there were not willing to. That made me even more skeptical about the place. After a lot of convincing myself and with no option left I moved to Trivandrum to start off my career...

First Impression!

I have been used to being in big cities with life moving at frantic pace. This place did not have any characteristics of a big city - no much traffic, not many signal lights, not many huge roads, no pollution. My first impression was that of a big town. Life is so different from what I am used to. I get out of home at 8 in the night to see all the shops closed. I get to the city on a weekend and all is closed. During my first week here there was some sort of a bandh. I just got out of home to get a feel of how the place looks during a bandh - simply everything is closed, all so deserted! The freshness in the air and the greenery were so welcome. Was not really sure how things will shape up...

Shopkeepers drive me crazy!

I don't think I will ever understand the way business runs in this place. I defies all normal business logic. Customer service is not heard of. Shops are there for shop keepers not for the customers. Shops open and close like office hours! Their logic is simply this - why must I work more than a office-goer does. A couple of incidents during my interaction at the market here were beyond comprehension.

Once went to the vegetable market. My first shock - you cannot even touch the vegetables before you buy! n then - no bargaining! forget about bargaining... I bargained once and he did not agree. That's fine! I came down to his price and guess what he says - "I don't want to sell it to you"! I am like, what the hell! I go the vendor next to him and the first guy tells him not to sell. I did not know whether to get angry or laugh. I have experienced things like this last in primary school - you did not give a chocolate to my friend, so I wont talk to you!!! :-)

Second experience was even more funnier. I once went to buy banana chips(Yep, its famous out here). Asked him for 2 kilos and also told him to make packs of quarter kilo each. He made 4 packs and then said he doesn't want to do the rest! He said - I will give u 4 covers, you can make the packs or you buy just a kilo! It totally shook me! Nowhere I have seen an attitude like this from a shopkeeper. He is ready to lose one kilo worth of business, but not ready to do a bit of extra work.

Outsider!

I guess I always remained an outsider to the place. I had a tough time interacting with people in any language other than theirs. Being a vegetarian means that you virtually don't eat anything at all. I cant clap my hands in a movie theatre. I cant go to a restaurant with my family and sit quiet. Hardly seen people interact with each other. I hear that Keralites are one of the few Indians who can survive anywhere in the world. But I don't understand why the same people are so different here. The maid servant at our house doesn't want to work on Sundays. Her logic is if offices are closed, why should I be working. Sometimes I think the hotels would close for a lunch break!!!

I had my time!

Well, its not been all bad out here as well. I have had some of the best times of my life. I have had a great set of friends. I have had some of the most amazing trips and treks out here with them. I have had lots of time to spend at home and with myself - which I always wanted to do. I have had a chance to visit a lot of places out here which are simply breathtaking. I have had coffee at the best place I could think of - on top of my office building, sea at a distance and greenery all around. I have had parties in some of the best resorts out here. I have watched almost all the movies released in the past two years during the first weekend of release! Work wise its the best two years I could think of!

Signing off from here...

I am sure I will miss the place once I am out of here. But to what extent? I don't know. May be when I get struck up in Bangalore traffic. Or may be when I will struggle for time with myself. Or may be when I want to get out of the city and walk in the beach. But somethings here beat my thinking. Makes me wonder if literacy is everything! After all this is a place of one hundred per cent literacy!

Its about "Dadagiri"!!!

Na... I am not posting against the core theme of "Lage Raho Munnabhai"! That's a splendid movie. I ran like crazy from theatre to theatre on the first Sunday morning of its release. I got the ticket at the fourth theatre I tried at and it was all worth it... Non stop laughing for the entire duration and some food for thought as well. Nopes, I did not want to speak about to movie but about dada - Saurav Ganguly.

What a comeback he has made! There was determination in his innings. He played much more maturely than he used to. He was there to stay! And did he make a statement - of course he did. He has always made... He was dropped after one match in '92 and made a statement when he returned at Lord's. He took over the captaincy when Indian cricket were in shambles after the match-fixing controversy. He built the team around him and led them from the front. He transformed it from the Indian team to Team India! And when he was dropped... that's the time I liked him the most. He did not keep quiet. He spoke about his intentions of playing again and worked on his game. I somehow did like the Pepsi ad too - I believe you require lots of guts to do an ad like that!!! Saurav surely has that... You cant take your shirt off and wave it at the Lord's balcony without guts!

Coming here he knew that he had to perform. He knew that if he fails out here then its going to be never again. He played with immense determination and that paid off...! That was an amazing performance from him... Hope to see many more towering sixes of spinners, those sweetly timed drives, classy cuts and sometimes a huge six of a pull!!! Way to go dada!

Hey hold... it was not an one man show either! The whole team played well and gave the best they could...It was a total team effort. The players do have a fear of coming home losing anyways...!!! After all the faith was lost during the ODI's they had to do good to at least return safe home. I had lost all my faith on the team already(Read more) and if I were not sick and on the bed, I would not have watched this match as well. It did do some good to restore my faith in the team and hope that its just a beginning!!!

The "madness" called Cricket!

Well, seeing India play in the last few matches reminded me of the old days. There was a time when India could not play on fast tracks. It was the time when Indian bowlers would perform to some extent on such tracks but the Indian batsmen would go to the middle, struggle for some time and return to the pavilion. It was the time when the opposition would target just one Indian batsmen - Sachin Tendulkar. That was some time back!!! There was a brief time when the opposition was vary of the Indian "Team" not the one Indian batsmen. Today we have gone back to the old times. Its the same fast tracks and the same one man army! Its the same situation and nothing has changed in years.

India is a country where cricket is our only secular religion. But are we doing enough justice to it? There are a lot of other sports in which Indians prosper, but they dont ever come into limelight(Sania is the only exception, looks do matter I guess!!!) Right from the common man on the street to the MPs in the parliament all have an opinion on the Indian Team. All have an idea and a suggestion to improve. We ignore the other sports simply because its not cricket. And are things good at least in that. No... the cricket is not going anywhere as well.

Indian players are way too busy walking on the ramps. The cricket board is way too busy making multi million deals for the telecast rights. The Parliament is way too busy expressing their disappointment about the coach. The man on street is busy making his dream team for the world cup. Is there anybody out there who is busy with cricket? Is there anybody who is taking the responsibility and doing something about the game? The captain says that there is pressure and that the team got to perform well. The coach says that the players are out of form and they have to perform. The selection committee chairman says that we dont have enough talented players in the country. Well, who is actually doing something towards it?

I dont know why the sponsors are still paying heavy money to these people(Or may be I know!). Airtel dropped Sachin as their brand ambassador. Will others follow? Talking business they would not! Cricket still sells in this country. Still people like to see Dhoni's new hairstyle, Dravid's handsome looks... Airtel got to learn from the TV channels. The news channels host chat shows to discuss "Are we giving too much attention to cricket?". And that gets them maximum viewer ratings. What do I say now? ESPN Star telecasts the same match on both their channels and still have great viewer ratings. Cricket will continue to rule the TV till the madness for the game continues!!!

Why am I speaking all this out here? There was a time when I used to watch all the matches, now I have come to a stage where I just see the score and switch the tv off. I have stopped watching cricket and started to follow other sports. But I continue to be amazed how the whole country and countless brands still run on cricket!

Ignorance Is Bliss?

Whenever I have come across this saying, my mind crosses over to the other saying "Knowledge is Power". They are two totally contradictory sayings and yet wondered how both of them can be true. I remember my parents always telling me that Knowledge is everything in life. Most of us have grown with this paradigm. And ya, today we all know that knowledge is truly powerful. Indians are making a mark all over the world is a testimony to that. Today knowledge drives the economy and there is no doubts on that. But then, I have been thinking of ignorance. Is it bliss even today? Does the saying hold good today as we move increasingly move towards a knowledge economy?

In the last week, I happened to see an interview with the Railway Minister. Should I say it was funny? Well, Laloo has been the darling of the media. He simply spices it up! Be it his hairstyle or accent or simply his looks. There was a time when Laloo jokes were more popular than the Sardar jokes. But now things are pretty much different. He gives guest lectures at the most prestigous B - school in India. He has to his name the most stunning turnover of the biggest public sector organisation in the country. From the verge of bankruptcy to sit on a 100 billion is by no means a joke. The recent mid term polls suggest Laloo to be most popular ministers in the present government. And why not? No passenger fare hikes for some time now and the facilities are simply improving. And the employees of the Railways are getting incentives the private sector way - Laptops for senior officials!!! Long live Railways.

What catapults Laloo from the most corrupt leader to a guest lecturer at IIM-A? Is he a genius? Ya he is witty! But does he know how to run the Railways? No is the answer. He is a totally ignorant when it comes to the business of the Railways. But then how does it work? Its simply that he leaves the job to the people who know. He simply hasnt interefered in the running of the business. He knows that the people at the Railways and the bureacrats know their job. He is doing a great job by actually not doing anything at all - Not even poking his nose into it. He does not say - "Well I know it all!" He instead says - "I am ignorant of things out here. Its you who know, so run it and I will not interfere". Does it work? Of course it does!

Back to ignorance now. Is it still a bliss? I would say yes, but with a difference. Its not a bliss if you are just ignorant. You got to accept that you are ignorant and act accordingly. Ignorance with honest acceptance is truly bliss! Well, in the same interview, he said that he wanted to be the PM of the country. Now I dont know how to react to this? To think of how he did it to the Railways I would say ya, he can make a good PM. But are we matured enough to accept him as the PM? Are we (read knowledgable) ready to look at him as our leader? He is a joker agreed! But if Bush can be the President of the US of A, then why not Laloo!

Jack of all trades, Master of Many!

The chequered flag at Sao Paulo last Sunday meant its "curtains down" on the career of Michael Schumacher! He did not finish on the podium nor was he the world champion this year, but it was he who stole the show without doubt. I did read a lot of articles on him in the past week, some speaking of the great stats and his dominance, some speaking of how tainted a driver he was. I have been a Schumi fan for years and I just could not resist but post my views. So here I am...

The Prancing Horse!

Success of a F1 team depends on the performance of each of the team member. Be it a race manager making strategies or a mechanic who tightens the nut on the tire. Ability of the team depends on the ability of the driver to understand this and give credit to the team. Schumi has been a team man to the core. He joined the Ferrari team in '96 when they were in shatters. He drove them to victory with one of the worst machines in his early days. He has helped Ferrari build a strong and a reliable team. So much so that they haven'’t had a single mechanical failure for the past 4-5 years. The way he defended his team and consoled them after their engine failure at Suzuka is a sign of a great and a true team player.

Drive a car or Fly a car???

I watch a F1 race because I love to, but why do I watch a qualifying session? The answer is -to see the flying lap from Schumi. Qualifying session is coming to an end and Schumi is not in front - that'’s a perfect situation I would love to catch up. That'’s when Schumi comes out with vengeance. He has his head down in determination and dead concentration. The red car simply flies. It goes absolutely full throttle, bumps over the curves and the end of it I hear "P 1 Michael Schumacher!!!"” I don'’t think anybody sets the track on fire like that!

My car is my baby!

F1 is the fastest advancing sport in the world. Building a F1 car is all about technology but driving it, is not! A race is not won by driving the car fast, surely not! You got to take care of the car like a baby! The last 8 seasons I have been watching F1 and haven'’t seen anybody nursing the car as well as Schumi does. He knows the limitations of the car very well. On the contrary, I have never seen him under utilize his car as well. He gives his all to the machine and the machine gives its all to him!

Give Me Rain!

Schumi handles the car well, fine! But what if the car is not behaving properly? Its raining and the track is wet. The car is going absolutely wayward - skidding and sliding all over the place! What do you do now? Well, Schumi is one of the best guys to handle a situation like this. Give him rain and he will make the most out of the race. Not only does he control the car but he gives his best during such times. I have sometimes wondered how he laps faster in intermediates when the others are on wets! I believe that's why they call him the "Rain Master"!

Michael Magic!

Schumi has almost been synonymous to the name Formula 1 itself. He's been so dominant that the FIA had to make some rule changes to end his domination. I have heard a lot of comments saying Schumi has not produced any superb overtaking maneuvers in his quest for victory. Most of the time he has won in pit stops and strategies. Well, if you have seen his maneuver on Kimi in his last race, you wont speak any further on that. That'’s one of the best overtaking I have seen. Truly Michael Magic!

I am not quite sure if Schumi will miss F1, but I am sure F1 will miss him and most of the F1 fans including me will miss these Michael moments! Hats off to the master!

The Screensaver is ON!

The worst thing to happen to me in the morning is the alarm going off. Alarm clocks have given their job to the mobile phones, but the tone remains as irritating as ever. My eyelids were a bit too lazy to open up today. Who put in the snooze functionality into these damn alarm clocks! With no option, I wake up dreading and thinking why its not a weekend. As I started to sip my cup of coffee, I look out of the window to see an empty bench in the lawn! BENCH! Suddenly I remember, I am on bench today! The realization suddenly changes everything around me. The day looks so nice all of a sudden and there is a new found josh to get to office. For ppl who dont know, being benched simply means that I dont have a project to work on. That calls for my day to be lazy as I start to get ready. A slow drive and a bit of hunt for the parking space and in the office I am!

I enter the office and as I get to swipe in, I see the receptionist giving me a warm smile. Well she must be thinking I was up late last night working and so am late to work. Not a bad picture to paint anyways! I settle at my desk and the first thing I do is obviously check mails. Send in late good morning mails to my friends. The mailing session goes on n on and its already tea time. A long tea break and time to chat and argue. We start discussing about why we are on bench. One of my friend comes up with this... "Being on bench is not bad. The company can use us if the people on project have to leave for some reason!". Well, we are not playing a game of Soccer dude! My view on it has been straight - I am getting paid as usual and no work, what more can I ask for! He still argues that we do some useful work. Both of us come to an agreement and get on to do some real useful work - Solve a Sudoku puzzle. Thats some fun! Yet another simple, small thing the Japanese has given to the world(I know there are debates on about the actual origin and I dont want one going now!).

The post tea session is all me at my desk. I have no access to the net during office hours but its always fun to find a workaround. I am amazed at the fact that we actually end up finding one always! What are the others doing as I am on bench? They are busy doing similar things as me! People have actually downloaded games onto their comps and are on it! And the PMs? Well, I just got a mail from them to join a voluntary group of people who are building some junk piece of code. They say you can improve your skills and have fun also. I shift-delete the mail to put an end to this yet another "bench-keep-busy" initiative. Its almost time to go for lunch and its a discussion where to go. My cubicle turns into a make-shift conference room as we argue over all the options we have. Finally we decide on one and off for a long lunch break. Back from lunch and I am damn sleepy. Is there a way out? Well, a place called dorm exists for people staying up late in the night and who need a nap break. I put it to the same use at a time of day surely not intended!!!

Deep in sleep, I hear somebody calling my name at a distance. Suddenly wake up to realise that I am at my desk. I dozed off with so much work on my head. I have been working day in and day out these days. Shit, I was dreaming! I see my PM(more about him sometime later!) approaching me. I try hard to keep my eyes open and not letting him know I dozed off. As he gets closer to me I make a quick resolution - No more paneer for lunch! Now I am totally off my dream as he asks me "Whats the status on the blah blah blah work item???". Hoping he hasnt seen me sleeping at my desk I answer "I am currently working on it!". He gives me a "dont give me stupid status" smile and says.... The screensaver is ON!

Right or Wrong???

Well, a lots going on about the Right to "Limited" Information act! Whats it all about???

A Bold move!

The Government of India cleared the landmark Right to Information(RTI) act in late 2005. The act was hailed world over as one of the most progressive of all time. The largest democracy in the world adds yet another feather to its cap! Well, whats the hoopla over this? What does RTI mean and what can we do using it? The act means that a common man in this country can now question the Government on just about anything. The common man is empowered to get all the information which he has the right to. I pay the tax on the income I sweat to earn. I pay the tax for all the small things I buy. I pay the tax even for the house in which I buy and live. When I pay for the elections and the running of the Government, I have every right to question if the Government does not deliver on its promise. I have all the right to ask why there are delays in developments that will better our society. I have the right to know why a particular decision was taken or more often not taken. The RTI Act serves as an answer to all this. The common man like me can now demand for information. I can choose to know the reasons instead of paying bribes. The RTI in a raw sense makes the Government accountable for all its policies and development works. The RTI puts the people on the questioning side and the Government on the answering side! A very positive move towards transperent governance!

The U turn!

Now when the RTI serves as a weapon to the common man, the Government makes a sharp U turn. The Cabinet has passed certain ammendments to the RTI which cripples the very purpose of it. In simple words of the law, the ammendment classifies "notings" as a part of non-disclosable information. What does it mean? It means all the rough notes, meeting notes which are an integral part of decision making is kept out of reach of the people. The common people can now get only the circulars and other notifications, but they can never know how or why the actual decision was arrived at. They can never know why a transfer was made or why a promotion was not given. The Government can always defend all their 'decisions' as confidential and put it out of reach. The very purpose of the RTI stands defeated!

Caught wrong-footed!

The Government on its part has always played this game. At the election time, they promise all the goodies and benefits to the people. Interestingly, they also do bring out such policies, but rarely popularise it. They dont let the people know of its true benefits. They fear the implications they themselves will have due to these policies. They always build loopholes into the policies so that they know where to hide when the problem knocks. The Bureaucrats just cannot grow up and be accountable! This has been going on for long and the Government has easily got away with it. But now the people are no longer sleeping. The Government cant just keep fooling the people around. The way the media popularised the RTI and the way people responded to it stands testimonial to it. The media has done a commendable job in taking RTI to the people. The Government on its part must have understood that its not making policies for dumb people. The people are awake to see what the Government does and make full use of the policies made for them. For a change the mouse has caught the big cat wrong footed!

A whole new world!

There is a whole new world out here! The past few days I have been thinking of how much the virtual me has taken over the actual me. I mail/scrap my friends more often than I actually meet them. Well, I guess thats the way of life today!

Taking the virtual me forward, I set off to write here. I write to people about happenings with me. But out here, I will write my thoughts. Right from general to politics to sports to anything. Its going to be just about anything that my mind thinks of. And I know my mind thinks a little too crazy at times - a little too Random!

Here we go. A warm welcome to all the readers out there and a warm welcome to myself to this whole new world of blogging. Stay tuned...