Positive Swadeshi

Sena plans vadapav stalls to counter Mac

I'm probably the least likely Sena supporter ever, yet the above must be commended. Of course, its still possible that its a gimmick, and merely to make a point, rather than a real marketing strategy, but this is surely a more preferable approach to popularizing ethnic foods, languages, etc, in comparison to the decidedly Neanderthal approach of, say, smashing McD's glass frontage.

A brief glimmer of hop for positive politics (especially coming from its most unlikely quarters!) ?

Entrepreneurship along a different dimension ?

open free world: Roy's Experiments with Life

Its anyhow about exploring, creating value, starting something new, daring to think different, bring value to an existing space and work hard, for immense amounts of satisfaction. No 10x scale, yes, but not everything needs to - ?

Food Honour!?????

Bush’s Food Remark Irks India

Whats the big furore about ? Bush might be wrong, or partially right, but all he's said is that we're getting more prosperous, which is good, and when people get more prosperous they eat better and (especially if they were eating less than normal), more. If "people" is a sizeable number, which we are, its bound to affect demand supply!

I would have never imagined a day I'd be "defending" Gerorge W, but the affront that India collectively took was mystifying. Did nobody read beyond the screeching, shrill headlines ?

Its not my call to say whether this was the only factor contributing to the food crises and prices going northwards. But if I were in a generally speculative mood, it would surely be one possible factor, and I'd actually be quite happy and take pride in the reason, while worrying about the impact. Shouldn't we be happy that at least a decent percentage of the population is eating better?

Weird.

Franchise!

Yeah, finally got successfully registered as a Bangalore voter! Now to figure out what else one needs to go vote...and of course, who for :)

Lead to believe its progress ?

Damn Interesting » The Ethyl-Poisoned Earth

Very very scary read. Is it the age of smugness, or ignorance, or paranoia ?

TOI again ? A little tired of the Hindu's agenda.

The Hindu : Opinion / Readers' Editor : Online : Balance: Readers’ perceptions, and the practice

The Readers' Editor has indeed done a little soul searching on the Hindu's behalf, but to little effect, I think.

This gives a comprehensive ringside view of the debate about the Hindu's leanings, which I had not known or anticipated at all when we switched to the daily, but perceived very quickly.

Yet another dream

sudipto.dg - Bicycle tours in Eastern Himachal Pradesh

Start cycling again and do this trip (that we did on the Pulsar earlier) slooowly. Need to get started, first. I'm sure I'll collapse after a couple of kilometres in my current state :)

Road Rage Stats

Synovate In:fact July 2005 - Is the leisurely drive on the road to extinction?

How do various people define "rude" and "aggression" probably has a role to play too.

BIAL is probably better than this tho...

Heathrow Horror Show | Autopia from Wired.com

This is not very surprising :) I've heard worse tales of Paris, and its all good fun. Except for the passengers. That reminds me - got a flight to catch early am, should go to sleep....thankfully its only from HAL so I do not have to start in an hour.

There we go again

Tamil film screenings disrupted in Bangalore

Step 1. Find a random, preferably soft target to represent whatever it is that you disagree with
Steo 2. Smash, stone, hit, kill, main, burn.

What a wonderful way to voice one's protest, and to gain the moral upper hand. The word "Vedike", in the Bangalore context, is rapidly deteriorating into meaning "thugs". Unfortunately it will get coverage in the print and electronic media, and without being the voice of the real Bangalorean (which is a far more sober, friendly and sane voice), will end adding some smear on our city's face.

A lot of good men continue to stay silent, and the noisy, shrill fringe gets a bolder voice. Once again.

Another "why"

Sumo 4x4, landscape pics, ladakh to Manali.. - Team-BHP

Why don't I have a job like this ?

Cycling ?

One Way to Encourage Urban Cycling: Traffic Protected Bike Lanes | Autopia from Wired.com

Given enough bike lanes - Bangalore would be perfect to bike in. Short distances, good weather, no major slopes. Safety, as the article and subsequent comments demonstrate, is a function of a multitude of factors. And any mode of transport can be less or more safe than any other, given the right circumstances. Idiot bikers, idiot drivers, idiot pedestrians, we're all part of the problem awaiting a solution :)

Tension in Tibet

The Dalai Lama finally did speak for peace, and has threatened to resign if the violence continues. Of course, actions would have spoken louder, and this episode has made me see the strength of Gandhi's conviction in his idea.

China continues to say the Dalai Lama wants a free Tibet (and I'd say he should) despite his repeated protestation that he's looking merely for greater autonomy and freedom within China, and that the Tibetans should befriend the Chinese. The Chinese line is beginning to sound like a not-really-disguised excuse.

The Indian position continues to disappoint - though the GoI has asked China to talk, but the Chinese have expressed satisfaction at the Indian stance. This is also a great opportunity to hold a few cards against someone who plays hard all the time - we WILL have to negotiate on Arunachal too, sooner or later.

Tibet Trouble

This is sad indeed, on many levels.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Dalai Lama's Tibet bloodshed fear

On my Ladakh trip, I've come to admire Buddhism even more for its base thought-process. Also have always had a huge soft corner for Tibetans - they've had it really bad, and merely because of China's might, there isn't too much support for their cause.

(Ok there go my chances of ever being able to bike in China. Oh well!)

I'm also a little disappointed with the GoIndia for not speaking up for the Tibetans a little more. They're toeing the China line a little too much. Pragmatism and poilitical expediency is ok, but on the other hand they don't have to keep reiterating that they believe China rightfully owns Tibet.

I can empathise with the Dalai Lama's stance - though I wish he played the role of the Spiritual Leader a bit more and made the Chinese cringe. He's had the opportunity to play today's Gandhi - and that includes not giving in - but I do think he's squandered it a little bit.

The deepest anguish is with the Tibetan people. When Indians resort to violence it feels sad - when Tibetans (or any other Buddhists) do, one feels a little hopeless - if those who've grown up in the tradition of the middle path shed it and cannot force matters without hurling stones and bombs, there's very little hope for peace in the rest of the world.

I certainly cannot understand the Chinese point of view. Its a culturally different region. Its tough to maintain and administer, and can only be a drain on resources. It did have its usefulness as a buffer between China and India, and controlling it made sense from a military strategists viewpoint, but is that a valid concern or need in this day and age ? On the global stage, its only a blot on China's image - but for a few issues like these everyone's pretty impressed with them and wants to do business.

The only rational explanation one can forward is that the Chinese establishment still harbours thoughts of military expansion - and thats very scary for the rest of us, and regressive for them.

The whole thing's gone downhill in every aspect. I hope the Dalai Lama - like Gandhi always did - feels ashamed of his followers and apologises to the Chinese on their behalf. This might shame them towards a more peace-led yet resolute approach, and in turn put greater pressure (with less of a moral ground to stand on), on the Chinese. Right now they can very easily point to all those pictures of mob violence and justify a crackdown. When you're in a fistfight, who started it first stops mattering.

State of _ ?

the need to fly usurps
besieged by questions, though
how do i spread my wings ?
can i even walk anymore ?
is it my own, or,
did i just borrow desire ?
will i merely burn down to cinder
if i do ignite the fire ?
is it free, or high, i seek ?
do i want to fly at all ?
perhaps my road is different.
or am i afraid to fall ?
is it a rush i'm after ?
or an elevated zone ?
perhaps
all i need is to explore
before i turn to stone.

State of mind/city/stock market/economy/nation/startups ? A little bit of each, i guess.

Spokeo Alert/Apologies

I responded to a friend's request to signup for Spokeo - with my gmail id.
Without realizing it, in a few moments, effectively ended up spamming all contacts in my address book - tried sending apology mails - after the first lot seem to not be able to send mails using my gmail account any more. For those of you who got that Spokeo spam - my apologies.

The Cup Runneth Over

I consciously paid for a coffee at Barista after a while today. What I mean is I actually looked at the bill, and saw the prices.

"51? Isn't the regular Cappuccino 34/- ?" I asked [ I'd asked for "1 cappuccino please"]
// a cup of coffee for a dollar and a half, in Bangalore!!? Ridiculous by most yardsticks
"No sir - its 51 - where does it say 34/- ?" said the man.
"Isn't that 34/- there on the menu there...." I pointed to the wall, which, to my embarrassment, was 34/- only for the Espresso.

Ah - there was no "Regular" Cappuccino any longer. 51, plus taxes - nearly 58/- for a cup of coffee and a few minutes of chair occupancy! I was both embarrassed, and shocked, with the latter feeling winning the mindspace battle and slowly turning into a slight feeling of having been had. I expressed the same to my colleague, and said CCD seemed to be relatively more reasonable (though neither could get close to the VFM a regular darshini offered). He remarked that I seemed to be biased against "large corporations" and chains.

Hmmm, was I ? Before I was anywhere being closed to being a grown-up - I remember as Bata being a "large chain" we could trust anywhere. Good shoes, good prices, even an exchange policy! Shubha and I have leaned towards Titan, and Tanishq, for their respective wares. I do like my Dominos/Pizza Hut pizzas more than the ones that Pizza Corner delivers - so I don't think I'm that much against big brands (though I do love to see a local store take on the biggies, and succeed). I even appreciate what Namdharis sells despite them never offering even a slight discount, ever.

Yet, there was an element of truth in what he said. I guess it was the feeling of having-been-had, or trying-to-charge-infinity-more-cause-i'm-a-big-brand alone! Titan makes great watches, yet tries to "compete" and provide "value". I know its intangible, but thats what it is! HP seemed like a rip-off when they asked me to change the entire LCD screen cause a teeny diode in the screen's power supply - a distinct component - was all that was not ok. BPL, otoh, has impressed in the past with great after sales and their attitude of fixing-the-small-issues-with-small-fixes approach. Even a surge at my parents' place merely meant a 40/- buck fuse replacement, not some major "oh but we have to change the whole component" crap.

If you run a consumer product company, or a chain, or whatever - remember - I - and many consumers - hate the feeling of having been had, whether its a legally tenable position or not.

It didnt help that the Barista dude was not too polite, either, even though I was wrong. [ Pizza Hut once gave me a free Pepsi refill that I dropped! ]

"Poor Farmer"...

... or the systematic deglamorization of the food production industry.

Disclaimer: I'm no economist. I do not even claim to understand all aspects of farming and its markets. I'm just perplexed about why its so uncool to do it.

Food Clothes and Shelter

The clothes and shelter guys are raking in the moolah - or at least branded-apparel-retail and housing/infrastructure seems pretty big. Food, if at all, is the most critical of all those necessities. There's a guaranteed, growing market. More people, younger people, and if news reports are anything to go by - more people are eating more, there's more veggies on peoples plates on an average, and a lot many people seem to be ok paying a lot for not just everyday stuff, but even exotic erstwhile-unpronounceable stuff. Any other industry with this kind of a consumer profile would be extremely attractive. What's so wrong with agriculture ?

Industry ?

Industry: 1. Commercial production and sale of goods.

There are a bunch of other definitions, most of which could easily include the citizenry involved in production and sale of food for the entire population. Some have capital (land) which they put in skill and effort into producing something worth paying for in the market, while others do not possess capital, and operate at a lower profitability level by selling skills to either get a share of the produce or in return for some cash and benefits.

Profit? Market ?

Over the last few decades, the government seems to have denounced the economics part of what should've primarily been a market activity. It tried telling them what to grow and when, how much to sell it for, and to whom, and dictated costs (and sadly, the quality and availability) of the raw material and other inputs needed. To be fair, even the "finished goods" industry lived under these circumstances, but I guess they were better organized and more into economics than the farming community to start with, resisted, and found ways around it - and finally managed to surge when the rules eased up.

Pride ? Real, livable, edible, monetary pride ?

The farming community, in the meantime, has only been further beggared and impoverished by their supposed do-gooders, and probably know way lesser about economics than they started off knowing. They've been painted in a permanently-stricken-by-poverty shade, consigned to inertia-unless-the-government-doles-something-out. They've not been free enough or helped enough (I honestly don't know if the latter is needed for the former) to learn enough about insurance, or drip irrigation, or re-learn micro-irrigation and water harvesting, etc. They haven't wisened up enough to make a healthy percentage of what the final market pays. The government, where it has removed the middlemen, has become one itself.

Over the years, "farmer" and "poor" have been made pretty much synonyms of each other. Along with reduced land holdings (and lack of co-operative farming ideas, or newer higher yield farm management) this has meant the only "respectable" options are those in-the-city.

Why isn't the average farmer a smart businessman, capable of managing the risks associated with the uncertainty of the rains, and of understanding and exploiting the demand/supply cycles without having those controlled by government decrees to ensure sugar mills are bound to buy X tonnes of cane at Y price etc ? Why aren't at least a decent percentage of people taking up farming as an alternative lifestyle after a few years in an urban career ? Why is it always a "brave/foolish" step and means a reduction in opportunity/lifestyle ?

I guess as long as the farmer is "poor" and every interaction with him guided with that as the foundation of it, the repetition of the fact will ensure its truth.

As an aside, the cities aren't much better for it. There is much more competition for much fewer jobs - I wish the security guards and maids had lesser competition and could earn better wages, and more "respectably". A healthy countryside economy (I'd rather not use the terms "rural" or "agrarian" because of the subtle negative connotations they've assumed over the years) will indeed be good for all of us. It may take some of the "truths" away from those trying to hoist Red flags and bring in improvement through "revolution", not the more sustainable market-driven approach. For God's sake - food is NEVER going to go out of fashion - just make sure you teach them how to recognize and profitably use that fact, not how to use automatic firearms, morons.

I await the day a retort to a post like this will emnate from a village - not by some "rural-BPO" employee but someone who's got a stake in a vibrant food-indutry-driven economy thats not just dying to sell all its land to the next mall as the neighbouring city eats into the landscape.

[ Yes I've made a lot many generalizations. Also, one cannot probably merely start treating all farmers as businessmen and leave them to their fate and hope to see wonders overnight. However, that MUST be the long term aim - to see farming and agriculture as a primary option for many - to see more innovation in that industry - to see more money - more pride. All dialogue must assume that as its cornerstone - and not dole out "alms" by way of 60k crores being written off. It must be a "trade", however benign it needs to be to start with. ]

Underpass, overpromised, overchieved!

BBMPs "Magic Box" has been in the news for a while now, and is now nearly there.

It got ravaged by the press, at lest the TOI. Poor guys made the mistake of being transparently optimistic and said it'd take a mere 72 hours - but that became 33 days by the time it got done.

33 days - are you kidding me? When was the last time one saw any infrastructural project in Bangalore get done inside of 6 months - leave alone 33 days ? Even el-simplo stuff like relaying sidewalks took months together - and often got abandoned midway.

We got to give credit where its due - and in this case its definitely due! Kudos BBMP - this leaves me with a lot of optimism for further, quick improvements where bottlenecks are spotted. Perhaps, just perhaps, Bangalore is starting to learn how to manage its new expanded size.

[ Aside : reminds one a lot of the software industry - young, inexperiences enthusiasm genuinely imagines tasks getting over "by Wednesday" and 2 weeks later gets a lot of flak for being late for stuff that would've taken 3 weeks anyhow. ]

Threat/Respect/Identity/Insults/Culture

So the MNS now does Maharashtra Nirmaan by targeting Northerners. Sure that'll help build a much better state! Migrant labour, newer ideas, wider participation are only impediments in the way of progress and success.

How often have fringe ideologies managed to hijack the polity - and get a quiet nod from so many who're not really supportive, but agree anyways cause they'd rather not disagree, or have some obliquely connected biases ?

• Is language for communication, or domination? Is it worth burdening it as a vessel of culture etc if that causes a breakdown in communication itself ?
• Whats with this whole outsider/insider paranoia ? Are the insiders always more concerned about their city/state? [ If so Bangalore would be much better run :) ] Why are some outsiders so defensive and end being abrasive, not knowing how to handle their initial discomfort at what they cannot understand upfront ? Why is there so much digging up of trenches and hardlines ?
• Everyone seems too keen to believe in the myths about the "other". I just read on some blog's comments that "Hindi speakers have a superiority complex". Would've never guessed that - in fact the average Southie is looked up to as a learned, law abiding, religious, vegetarian up north - again a rather generalized prototype. Benefit of doubt, people ?

Diversity is a good thing (imagine having the same food, same songs, same everything wherever you go - would feel like the US!) - but the way its being used right now - for hardline ethic identities - makes one wonder if our nation deserves that. Go the strict French way and abolish any signs of difference ? Adhere only to the one Indian-ness and ban everything else - at least from the state's point of view ? Crappy and quasi-comunist, of course, but what else do a people who cannot celebrate difference and only live in fear of imagined demons that the "other" might be deserve ?

Sad. Very very sad.

Bye Jamshedpur!

My parents bid adieu to the city where I grew up, have amazing memories of, made friends, got an education. I got to be there for no effort on my part - and am thankful to the Tatas, my parents and God that this came to be.

Jamshedpur set a benchmark in my life in terms of dreaming big, planning and execution (am still learning this last one), uncompromisable ethics, love for green lung spaces, planned towns and a charming life.

We've grown up - even said "there's a lack of opportunities here" - and moved out. We're part of the "real" world now - a bigger city - more diversity - more opportunity - larger ambition and huger aspirations. Yet there was something very, well "nice" about the place which is missing from the sum of all the adjectives the bif city might be able to cater to. There was no race to run all the time, everything was affordable and it was all smell the roses. Of course this was probably true more from my school-kid point of view than from my parents or other grown ups, but thats how I remember it.

No more Durga Puja, no more Bistupur, no more strange and specific-only-to-Jampot Hindi. No more sitting in the usual spot along the club fence devouring "signed-for" fingerchips and "Nova" at the club, and no more hitching free rides to school.

There is a dull ache in the heart, and lots of slightly-yellowed-and-withered-around-the-edges pictures in the head.

Adieu Jampot. May you live on and prosper forever. And thanks for the memories.

BIAL vs HAL

Dunno how effective/impactful this will be - but if there's any iota of a chance that it helps, this survey is worth taking. Takes under 2 mins.

Honestly, even if the roads are great, it hardly makes sense for those taking short haul flights (Chennai, Mysore, even Hyderabad, Mangalore) to travel that far out when a decent airport exists right in the centre of the city. One might be better off taking the train/bus or driving.

There's the added burden of huge costs, both to get to BIAL as well as in terms of the extra charges there. BIAL is a sure option for long distance flights, and we definitely need an efficient, scalable airport for international traffic. But they can make an exception for the short haul ones, at least.

Frankly, even a days trip to Delhi and back will be that much more strenuous now. Some early morning/late night flights for all domestics routes can also be routed to HAL.

Rain Rain save some pain

Rainwater harvesting is something thats supposed to have worked for Chennai, and can help alleviate the looming water crisis over all cities large and small as the population gets more and more concentrated in these places. Local/micro level water management is probably wayy cheaper and more effective. Each house, apartment and office should strive to do its bit.

Shubha's been on a sabbatical from her formal job and volunteered to work with the RWC. Its been a great journey and awesome learning so far, from whatever I gather. Its help build marketings skills, a nose for business issues and been a source of a great deal of satisfaction. There is something about a desk bound job not directly connected to the "real world" that gets to you once in a while, and volunteering for such jobs for a short/long/permanent duration may actually help individuals in multiple ways.

If anyone is thinking of doing anything towards rainwater harvesting, do visit the website or write in to rainwaterclub -- A*T -- gmail --DOHT-- com

Big town/Bean Town

Had been thru Delhi last week. Got driven through the opened-that-day Gurgaon expressway, and generally caught up with the mammoth scale of infrastructural strides the NCR has taken.

Bangalore is quite firmly a small town. There's been little reason to think big, and despite the numerous growth pains, commuter woes and string of issues that keep popping up in area after area, intersection, road, wherever, the swalpa adjust maadi has so far kind-of-worked-out. If the traffic is horrendous, most people still get to most places in an hour cause they need to go only, say, 10 kms at most. The city has only recently started to scale to a genuine big-city size where inefficiency in infrastructure takes things beyond breaking points. Mumbai and the NCR have been through multiple rounds of this, and have been forced to take corrective action right from the design phase, given the scale.

I also experienced fear in Delhi. The expressways seem to have steamrolled everything in their way - including dhabas and small chai shops and the like - a lot of the smaller things that made India the warm comfortable place its always been. One shouldn't always need to walk into a mall for a cuppa, should one ? I hope whenever Bangalore suffers-and-hence-learns, the Darshini, Re 5/- coffee, the roadside cobbler kiosks - these stay alive. Its tough enough to find small services in Koramangala already. Absolutely no need to lose one's soul in the name of growth.

There surely ARE other alternative development models to massive-highway lead urban sprawl that the NCR is experiencing. A much better alternative is to make driving so painful that great public transport HAS to be built. Yeah we have the metro, but there needs to be much more, much faster. Keep the city alive, and manage growth, should be the mantra. Bangalore as a city probably has way more brainpower and international exposure per capita than any other place - it should take the lead in a new way, not merely follow the last decade's developmental models.

Green Sheen

http://www.morganstanley.com/about/community/littlegreenebook/

Interesting tips/advice.
How much do you follow?

Here's my list:

+ always wait to fill dishwasher up 99%+
+ short showers/baths
+ reuse plastic bags - even return them to the vegetable guy
+ only CFLs
+ shop locally

-I admit I've got used to a dryer
-love driving, sometimes for the heck of it (lota biking so better tho)
- leave phone charger plugged in
- lotsa devices on standby
- no solar energy so far despite desire

Hmmmm..

Taare Zameen Par : First Reaction

Watched it yesternight.

Very feel-good, PC and well made. Very useful message too. Pretty much nobody will "disagree" with the movie.

BUT, as moviemaking goes : (warning - may give away parts of the story - but this was more a treatment-movie than a story-one)

Story handled at a pretty superficial level.
No characters apart from the kids really developed at all.
Dyslexia was the easiest way out - there are lots of kids that need hearing/handling in a similar situation without dyslexia.
Not everyone else is usually that "black" vs the art teachers "white". No real grays, esp in Aamir K's character. No self-doubt, no reflection.
The teachers were essentially caricatures. Also, no real reason they/principal/school changed that much.
Kid himself changed too easily, too dramatically, but this is possible.
Most new-age parents (the internet toting, high pressure go-getters that the couple were shown as) at least pay lip service to "no-pressure-education". These seemed too clueless. The bigger problem is the actual fears/anxieties below the surface where despite the lip service, parents cannot really let-go. Not even scratched this angle.
Not one other sympathetic kid/teacher in the Mumbai school! I'm sure the place isnt that heartless :)
Dialogues were verrry documentary like - sermons, almost.
Art competition : seemed too orchestrated yet predictable, and the kid didnt necessarily have to win it. Non-dyslexic kids could also win it, after all. And almost seemed like the whole thing was a setup to let him win. Wouldnt the other kids might have gotten a -ve message out of that!? A "gallery" of the most appreciated ones may have been a better idea, for instance.

It was a very good movie cause it'll make ppl pause at least once to start focusing on what the kid they deal with is thinking of. But the dyslexia angle took away from some of that. Normal kids have egos too, get hurt/rebellious too, also have multiple intelligences that need focusing on rather than a unidimensional stress on "expected performance" too. In fact, there is a lesson somewhere in it for all of us to stop letting the world decide the LHS of our lives' report cards.

All in all, a powerful concept, badly written script, well executed and heart-tugging, and a huge lost opportunity.

Hampi BikeNomads Meet 2007

Describes the Hampi Meet Perfectly

That photo describes the meet/place perfectly. Its also nice I'm in it ;)

Bus Bay

The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : 140 bus bays to be constructed in Bangalore city

Welcome relief. Too many micro-jams caused by BMTC giants pausing wherever, whenever.
Only, hopefully these won't all be built within 50 metres of intersections - thats the bigger culprit, really.

Helmet Heaven

Motorcyclist At Large: Motorcycle Helmets: I understand and I still don't want to wear one..

Extremely good set of links - all you wanted to know about Helmets but have been making excuses against. I really hope Bangaloreans start taking to helmets voluntarily, not through legislation.

Right (to) Info

http://www.karnataka.com/faq/

Found a lot of useful numbers in one place. Really useful stuff for commonly needed rules and regulations, contact numbers.

So predictable

Deve Gowda's three conditions for the BJP

Karnataka's Legislative Assembly must be the largest real estate agency on the planet. Utterly shameful, or shameless, whichever way you want to look at it. I rarely have strong opinions against individuals but for the sake of this city and state one wishes the ex PM distances himself from the political landscape here - for whatever reasons or in whatever way.

Truly very sad.

Back from a break

Had a 2 week break at Jamshedpur - where we're from. This was Durga Puja time, and given that my Dad's off from there next year, pretty much the last proper Puja I'll get to see.

The weather was really kind - no heat or humidity - and nothing torrential either. Took trains both ways and the journeys were very much part of the vacation - finished a book each way (after ages). Unfortunately the Yeshwantput-Tata exp had no pantry, so the food was iffy.

BTW, SPOT Citicab has amazing service - +918041100000. Found it on Zook :)

Bangalore's much colder since we returned - but feels pretty. The traffic just seems suddenly much much worse tho.

Thats a picture from the puja mela at the Sabuj Kalyan Sangha grounds in Telco.

Had also been to BIT Mesra where I passed out of in 1996 - had a brief chat with the final year guys. The Comp Sci department has grown to behemoth proportions, and the erstwhile OAT is now a covered, usable space.

Here's a few more pix from the trip - unfortunately all from the cell cam which isnt the best in low light.

Cutting Edge Consumers

My Mobile Blog

Used this to get Shubha to pick one the two - Sids blogged from his SE - and the decision actually changed as compared to the description over the phone earlier!

Hilarioubuntu

Fiendish Operating System: 1 – Sidin Sunny Vadukut: 1 | Domain Maximus

The fun starts in the second para, and never stops :)

Have you lived your dream ?

Your Job: Have you lived your dream? - Team-BHP

Hmm interesting discussion here. On common refrain amongst the software types is the drudgery of the job. What can fix that ? Perhaps too many jumped into the "current hot thing" and of course, till not long ago - and even today for a large percentage - following your heart was not an option.

Hypothetical question : Won't we all rock if we basically do what we love to do ? I mean there will be little by way of 'just doing my job' ... of course its a naive statement and things are rarely static - but its still a thought worth considering when hiring/creating workplaces.

I want to ride my bicycle

Bangalore IT professionals cycle towards a green future

bumsonthesaddle.com

A long time ago I did try this - on a higher end Indian bike. The traffic on Hosur road, and a flat, got to me and I gave up after exactly 4 rides.
Maybe time to give it another shot. Also a good way to exercise, and avoid traffic jams too!

Microcosm

Kuensel Newspaper - Who will tame the car?

The numbers are all tiny, but the problem huge. Its probably more fragile too.

Time for change ?

Change IST, save energy, say scientists- Hindustan Times

Wow, are their fallacies in there ? Is the "new time" communication to the huge population an easy task ? Are my blog entry titles getting a little too TOI-like ?

Another com-post

Bangalore woman SHOWS how garbage is 'exciting'

This one also demonstrates scale. Maybe halving the total garbage output of the city is not that much of a pipe dream, after all.

Think before you dump

Daily Dump - Compost at Home

Am not clear what happens to the compost yet - but sounds like a plan. If the garbage output of the city reduced by even 50%, it would solve a huge problem! Also, as a byproduct very rich topsoil might really improve yield. How does it get to those who need great topsoil, without being infinitely expensive ? No clue. Or is it sold in "retail size" packets ? Lotsa questions....

BengaluruKaapi?

Bangalore is officially Bengaluru

somehow the combo of the Anglic and the Vernacular had stronger appeal. So no change in the blog's name for sure.
Not that anyone cares :D

Recycled by BWSSB!

Deccan Herald - Thirsty Bangalore to get recycled water

This is both very encouraging, as well as a little scary. After all, BWSSB does only a just-about-ok job of treating relatively cleaner river water. Recycling is a great idea - especially at only 5% wastage - but running it efficiently is way more critical now, and way bigger a challenge for a governmental org.

Greener computing

techlogg.com - Five simple ways to save electricity with your computer

Greener = less unGreen, in this case.

Big Un!!!!

Sania stuns Hingis in Los Angeles

I am not a major tennis fan, and this ain't about Bangalore. But stuff like this does not happen everyday :) Wow! Wow!

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First Patent Approval

Finally!!! This was filed a loooong time ago.

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The Wheels of a Bus

The Pulsar went back for a round of diagnostics to Venkat's place. And I took a ride with a pal upto the Dairy Circle, and a shared rick upto St Johns. As soon as I hopped off there was a 342 something right in front, and empty too! I hopped on and had a relaxed bus ride after ages.

Whats usually a 10 minute dash turned into a 20 minute journey (plus a 10 minute walk in a very light drizzle from where I hopped off to home). There were 4-5 stops along the way, and so many folks got off and on, my life unwittingly, fleetingly crossing paths with theirs, and lost in the passing of time a few moments later...

Should take the bus once in a while. Keeps one rooted in the city one lives in, and one gets to see the usual routes from a vantage point, at a peaceful, languid pace.

"life they had inherited from the corporations"

Songwriter's Notebook: Pivotal Moment in the Green Scare

All extreme points of view are usually exaggerated. But I'm discovering a liberal, left-of-centre streak to myself these days, and tend to empathize with the cause of lesser, lighter, less complex existence.

One also reads so often about America Inc's near total control of that nation - laws, policy and vision. Thankfully, India is still a noisy, slow moving economy where a large enough group of noisemakers can shout down changes they don't agree with. Not that I agree with the Narmada protestors 100%, or at all with those at Singur, but maybe there are things I do not understand and views of "progress" that are flawed. Who's to say....

And its so true that happiness usually eludes the larger cities, the richer nations and there's surely an alternative path to progress. India's possibly poised to discover it better than most, given the basic bent towards "sustenance" and not "growth" (u do have to ask what that growth is for, in a larger context). The earth has finite resources, and massive "growth" at a larger scale - not a personal one - may scar it beyond a level where it can sustain us. When that happens, my belief is we will get violently knocked out. And we may have started to see a little of that already.

Am I too leftist at moments ? But I do firmly believe in the freedom of the individual (ok thats liberal in many ways too) and growth - but harmoniously. No point increasing the pitch of the economic cycle to a level where the biggest resource of them all cannot take it anymore, right ?

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India, Do Not Call

National Do Not Call Registry of India

This has got to be a very useful resource for a lot of people. Telemarketers (while they're only doing their job) are a reviled lot, and this should make things easier for them. Is there scope for smart contextual advertising, since once in a blue moon I do get a call I respond to.

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And the more formal one....

Flickr Photo Download: Map of Ladakh

There are so many roads one needs to see - oh well.

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Very Good Map of Ladakh :)

Flickr Photo Download: Biking in Ladakh - our grp TShirts

Gives one a great overview, and starting point for planning your rides. Zanskar, Spiti aren't part of it tho - maybe I should get down to making maps on those Tees :)

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The Pulsar 220

Test rode this :


The beauty belongs to a rejuvenated Venkat of Auto Service, Banashankari.

Bajaj has bravely plonked it firmly above the Karizma's price range - and thats a very bold statement. This may yet again change the biking scene in the country.

Parents.....again

Calvin and Hobbes, comics, editorial cartoons, - Flash Player Installation

There's so much we miss down there from high up here. Need to remember to hear, see, feel and understand the tiny point of view a little more.

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How-to for parents

Calvin and Hobbes, comics, editorial cartoons, - Flash Player Installation

But we all get into sermonizing despite all the fundaes, don't we ? :)

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HungryBlore/Zook on TV

Hungry Bangalore on Headlines Today

As usual the media didnt get it ALL right. But glad they edited out my more nervous, rambling moments :)

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Banglore needs a coming of (garb)age - A Petition

Save N Lakshman Rau's Nursery By Stopping BBMP Petition

Its amazing how short term Bangalore's administrative planning and vision is. I have heard since 1996 that the city gre too fast - in a fraction of that time they have practically recreated Shanghai, and even facelifted Hyderabad completely.

Isn't is time for a practical, scientific landfill, and smarter management (including recycling, to reduce waste and recover costs) of waste generated ?

The per capita trash generation is surely lower in India than a lot of cities around the world. If the BBMP cannot manage this, all the talk and brochures projecting a futuristic image of Bangalore's growth are merely window dressing.

Crash boom bang

Just at the exit of our apartment complex. A series of bad coincidences, a badly designed and located speedbreaker, a less than alert security guard, and the Avenger's nose poked out just in time for the Corsa Sail's rear wheel to kiss it. The car had just swerved to the right side of the road to avoid the horrible speedbreaker which covers all but the extreme right of the road!

Boom!

Bent fork, bruised hand, broken hubcap.

I've never (yet) fallen at anything >20kmph on the bikes. Weird.

Whence, whither, why ?

to be free, to not be chained
to fly, to look down below and see beauty
to feel alive, and live feelings
the heart aches, and the mind wanders

and edited later, not merely off the cuff, and with more rhyme and less reason :

to be free, to not be chained
to fly, explore, admire, unsrestrained,
to feel alive, feel, and pursue the yonders,
the heart aches, and the mind wanders

Zook - ur mobile life tool

[ This is from what I do at work.... ]

Zook is going live.

Zook is a new mobile answer engine which helps you quickly get answers, and act on them, not just pages upon pages of links. It identifies the really clear answers upfront, or interactively narrows down to what you really meant to look for. On the move, wherever you are.

To start zook .in

* WAP : http:// zook.in
* SMS : "ZOOK " to 3030
o [ when SMSing, remember to always start with "ZOOK ... " !!!! ]

In its first avatar, Zook gets you

• Ringtones
• Restaurants (Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai - you can add blr/del/mum to ur searches for getting to a city's info - say " blr casino royale" )
• Movies (Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai)
• Events (Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai)

We're adding more cities and things you can find and do.

If you like what you see, please do include your friends in groups or as friends, and spread the word about Zook. Also, please send your comments/suggestions to feedback@zook.in . Or let me know at 984518020 .

A short how-to guide can be found at http://www.zivasoftware.com/faq.php.
More details about what Zook can do for you below.

Happy zook.in !

==================================================================

Zook FAQts :

Whats Zook ?

Zook is the new way to use your mobile phone. Let it now be your friend which helps you find a place to eat, or catch a movie, or download fun stuff for your mobile.

Its on your WAP phone at http://zook.in

You can also send an SMS - "ZOOK " to 3030
[ BTW, You can also just use "Z" instead of " ZOOK" ]

So, a local search engine on the phone? So?

Zook is not just a search engine. Zook makes sense of the data, and of what you asked. It analyzes the data, your interests and interprets the likely intent of your query.

A few examples [ Remember : on SMS start all queries with "ZOOK" , e.g. "zook chinese" !! ]

you : chinese blr
zook : 1:Restaurant:Chungs Chinese Corner, Indiranagar
2:Ringtone:Theme Of China Gate, Monotone
......
7: Restaurant (31+)
8: Ringtone (19+)
9: Locality: Indiranagar (5+)
10: City: Bangalore (31+)

you : 7
zook :1:Magnolia, Koramangala, South Bangalore
2:Aromas Of China, Langford Town
....
6: Locality: Indiranagar (6+)
7: Locality: Church Street (4+)
8: Locality: Koramangala (7+)
9: Locality: South Bangalore (4+)
10: Locality: Palace Road (2+)
More
you : 6
zook :1:Wangs Place, Indiranagar
2:Chungs Pavilion, Indiranagar
3:Wan Ley, Indiranagar
4:Gokul Kuteera, Indiranagar
5:Oregano, Indiranagar
6:Vishals, Indiranagar
7:Ramya, Indiranagar
8:Bangalore Mandarin, Double Road, Off Richmond Circle,

OR

you : thai kgla
zook :1.Magnolia, Koramangala
2. Pan Asian Bites, Koramangala
you : 1
zook :Restaurant: Magnolia
Cuisine: SE Asian, Chinese, Thai
Phone: +918041102222
Address: 840, 7th Cross, 15th Main, 3rd Block Koramangala Bangalore - India (Koramangala ) 560095
1. SMS "RESERVE 1 for 5" to 3030 to book a table for 5 at Magnolia
2. SMS " ORDER" to 3030 for a callback for delivery/takeaway orders

(You can Reserve/Order through HungryBangalore.com. These are some things you can "do" now after you find something. We're adding lots more soon)

OR

you : guru pvr blr
zook : Movie: Guru (Hindi)
Theatre: PVR
Timings: 12:00pm, 12:15pm, 3:50pm, 3:30pm, 6:40pm, 6:45pm, 9:50pm, 10:00pm
Address: The Forum, 3rd Floor, Nr. Madiwala Checkpost Koramangala Bangalore
560095
Phone: +918022067511

And Zook is not just local. Its about your leisure, your music, your tastes, your choices, your neighbourhood, your friends....

Friends ?

Yes. Your friends give you the best references, and beyond a point can give you a way better answer than even we can. So if Zook cannot dig out the answer, it helps pass it on to your friends.

You can create groups of people you hang out with for various different things - work, bowling, golf, whatever. Your contacts and each set of people can be your 'expert circle' for answers and advice (and soon we'll enrich the data for the entire community based on stuff you find out and share). You can both ASK these contacts about choices, or information, and TELL them about what you like (whether or not you found it on Zook).

you : korean kgla
zook :No Matches Found
ASK your friends?
send "ASK "
you : ask amit, 9878709878 Is there a good Korean place in Blore ?

amit : Tell nopes theres a couple of good Japanese ones tho

You can ask more than one friend, and we'll summarize their responses too.

Need WAP ?

Zook works fully featured on both WAP as well as SMS ( ZOOK/Z on 3030) !!
SMS is charged at whatever your operator's premium SMS rates are.

Next time you need to look, Zook it!

Rgds,
TeamZook @ Ziva

Cubbon Park

Sunday was spent on a trip to Cubbon Park - the train ride, other assorted rides, the aquarium, followed up with some delightful luchi-alu at KC Das.

Cubbon park is a fun place for the kids - and cheap! And surprisingly uncrowded! I guess Bangaloreans prefer the upmarket options these days by default :) The toy train station has been renovated and looks quite nice - and its only 10/- for adults and 5 for <10 year olds.

The balloon, cheap-plastic-toys, assorted refreshments vendors outside add to the carnival look. The only sore/aberrant sight was of the government outlet selling mackerel etc right outside the aquarium !!

Alas, Bengalooru

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buckle-up-street-travel-experiences/19229-motorist-asssaulted-hoodlums-bangalore.html

Is this not worth fixing more than the name ? I've been a victim of something similar in the past - and in the mob, you're never right. Bangalore is getting less and les civilized - the beautiful, friendly city that we came to in 1996 is nearly gone.

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Bhutan - Land of the Dragon

Pictures first. More later

In short tho - nice 10 day break - 5 days in Bhutan incl Thimpu and Paro. The place needs 2 weeks plus tho - this was merely a trailer! Trekked upto The Tango-Cheri monastery and the really up-there Taksang - the Tiger's Nest.

Education / medium

http://in.news.yahoo.com/060924/211/67vst.html

Depressing. Is the debate over a language [ which is mainly a tool for communication and must not become not an identity - that should be associated with what one does not symbols of a group or community etc ] more important than the basic need of education itself ?

Morover, can anyone really argue that forcibly not teaching in English will inculcate a love for the vernacular, and also not reduce the competitive advantage one may have ?

If the real world primarily operated in language X, that would logically reflect in education. Egoes, language-politics should have no place in this. Languages are a practical tool, not something that should serve other needs.

Bombay Blues

Concrete, filth, chaos. With a glossy lipstick of paint, colourful hoardings, and vibrant clothes. Morose, worried faces and lost souls. Rapid movement of men, material and assorted hopes in buses, autos, swanky cars and local trains.

Bombay.

Or actually, any of our cities.

Bangalore's "High Class" apartments

Would you want to live here, amongst one of Bangalore's like-minded high class people ?

• Why's Bangalore still allowing high rises to come up in erstwhile beautiful, green spaces ? 17 floors, for crying out loud!
• Having been a Mantri customer in the past, and having interacted with some from the family, their claim reeks of a certain nouveau-riche-ness
• Do all "high-class" people talk like this ?
  

Especially in a town crawling with unassuming yet successful professionals and a very traditional older generation, who've all seen and sampled a huge variety of cultures, tastes and thoughts, and lend to the cities wonderfully cosmopolitan mix, this whole thing jars, and sounds vulgar. Isn't this the same 'not-high-class' that they've grown on the backs of ? Should you now buy one their 'lower class' apartments ?

Am not the 'high class' clientele the Mantri's are looking for, but if I were I'd want to stay away. But then I do not speak in terms of 'classes' in this day and age, and am not the 'like-minded' peope they seek.

Next time, please use less crass and PC descriptions of the arrived and well-heeled.

Yahoo! 360�� - Mu-sings - To be a Hindu

Yahoo! 360�� - Mu-sings - To be a Hindu

Some philosophical rambling I indulged in.

Bangalore Flickrd

http://www.flickr.com/groups/bangaloreweekendshoots/pool/

got this link from
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2006/08/weekend_photography.phtml


I've been planning to get up early, ride around town and click some snaps of old buildings, landmarks and all thats Bangalore.

Kollu Pati

Yesterday we went to see Shubha's great grandma, who might not turn 100 next March 03rd. She's lost most senses, and her food intake has become near zero in the last couple of days. Just about a year ago we used to marvel at her memory at this age, and were pretty sure of the century.

Its sad to see a human being in the state she is in. One does not even know whether she is in pain or not. Hospitalization seems like a cruel option, with the drips and tubes for the force-feeds etc, and hospitalization for what, anyhow.

I don't want to live to be a 100. I hope shes not in pain.

Shubha's dad does reviews for the Hindu

The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Events : In the name of the Lord

Devotion through music

Remembering Papasami

Pretty good use of time! I wish I find something like that when I'm retired.

Trivandrum break

Did a road trip with Ramesh & family to Trivandrum - accomodation courtesy Shubha's folks. The journey to Tvm took nearly 24 hours - including a 6 hour sleepover at Coimbatore!! The return trip was merely 14 hours, including breaks - the road via Madurai is much quicker, tho the Kerala stretch has more for the first time visitor.

Cochin/Ernakulam seem to have boomed like crazy over the last couple of years - massive stores, apartments and traffic jams on the 'bypass' road tell a familiar tale.

Here's some pictures

Highlights of the trip

* kovalam - Akshat and Isika totally soaked up the sun, sea and sand
* Kanyakumari
* Padmanabahapuram palace

Drive within rules = Bloodied nose - Team-BHP

Drive within rules = Bloodied nose - Team-BHP

A lot many amongst us would have come across stuff like this - we need a forum to get these goons to at least get infamously publicised, if not served justice.

Defying SC orders, Karnataka works on Bill to grab country's first private road project

Defying SC orders, Karnataka works on Bill to grab country's first private road project

This is horrible. First the 93rd amendment and now this - looks like the legislative wing has decided to ride roughshod over anything it does thats deemed either unfair, unconstitutional or downright 'malafide', as in this case.

God help the state, country. I don't see any citizen action in this case, unlike the reservations issue.

Lawn shot

The Lawn Racket

Hope Adarsh and their ilk take note!
Interestingly, the article has left out the most important argument against 'carpet lawns' - water consumption. Unlike natural grassland and especially trees and plants, lawns do not help retain water - they need a lot and most of it evaporates rather quickly. Given that the next round of global hostilities may well be over freshwater resources - this is unpardonable.

Whither progress ?

The Curse of the Mobile Phone Age: Electronic Smog

Somehow the urban depression, the stress-freeness of the remote jungle all tie in. Maybe, just maybe, we're over the edge and falling already. Its true our body depends on electrical impulses, and its unlikely that a gazillion of these, especially the ones in higher concentration close to us, and all around us have no impact.

An entire generation of long lived (cause of better nutrition/excercise) and alzheimer stricken nervous wrecks is a very scary thought. Scarier is imagining being one of those. Time to move back to the wild ? Maybe nature will ensure we do, or doesn't care if we don't make it anyhow.

Infinite laziness on the blogfront

Lazyman's updates

• Bangalore seems to be moving a bit on the infrastructure front - the airport, Metro, Peripheral road etc. However, no signs of a sewage or a water line anywhere around our apartment yet.
• Akshat flew to TVM for a vacation all by himself. His entire generation seems to be fear-proof. He walked past security checks etc with the Jet Airaways staffer reasonably casually, and even managed to ask her some questions about the X-ray screening.
  
• Mosquitoes, and mangoes, announced the season bigtime.
• Nachiket Joshi - the guy whom we met in Ladakh and Spiti and who'd taken a year off to go backpacking across the country - figured on a Times Now programme about people who dared to. When will we dare to ?
  
• Holi @ Redwoods was surprisingly nice, if low key.
• Alankrita's first birthday turned out to be a huge gathering - and the country Club is out of our bad books for now.
• School fees are beginning to scare the hell out of us - at this rate we'll have to won facr compared to Loyola, Jamshedpur, these all feel more hyped than substance.
  
• Need to go on a ride/vacation soon. Been ages!
  

His father’s son: HDK takes a swipe at IT - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition

His father’s son: HDK takes a swipe at IT - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition

The soundbites were too good to last, and my cynicism was not really misplaced. So decent roads and town planning benefit only the rich - mindblowing.

Here's something noticed that should worry Bangalore: at a recent Alumni meet there were very few 2005 graduates, against the norm. Usually the most recent batches displayed the maximum enthusiasm for such events. When I asked around I was told that most of the batch - hired by the likes of Infy, Wipro, Oracle etc - was in Hyderabad or Delhi or Pune or Chennai!

The slide has started. Whether HDK and the likes want the taps to run dry, or whether they believe that the best way to solve poverty, both monetary and infrastructural, is growth, remains to be seen.

Rhetoric is back in fashion after a brief holiday.

Ride on, ride on

The Hindu : Metro Plus Bangalore : Sixty and she's still vrooming

Gotta do this someday. hopefully before I'm sixty. Salute, Linda!

Potholesome development

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4715470.stm

The fact that there's fine print to trap eager participants is shameful, in the context of the 'contest'. If you're posing such a challenge, you must be able able to say 'show me *one* pothole in Bangalore and I'll give you a 1000 bucks' - or just shut up and work.

The positive from this is probably more citizen participation, ending of course in more citizen cynicism and despair, and hopefully more citizen anger.

This sucks.

HDK >>> HDDG? Governance capability

The new CM - HD Kumaraswamy is making all the right noises in the media for now - and Bangalore's dying to latch on to even raw hope (laced, I must add, with generous doses of cynicism).

The thing is, I do not believe the babudom which thwarted Krishna, and revelled under Dharam and Siddu, is likely to let things happen. And not just the Bangalore babudom.

case in point:
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=87763

L&T have proven themselves earlier. Why not give them a lion's share of the work and maybe even overall supervisory control. I think they were key to the Konkan railways too.

Even from a lay person's point of view, there's too much lack of vision/capability/knowledge. Neither short term execution skills, nor long term planning is discernible.

Examples:
Majestic/Railway Station/New Offices on MGRoad:
Bangalore seems to be restricted to a 5 km sq in the 'heart' of the city - and I've been hearing the 'growing too fast' for 10 years now!
Why do long distances buses - 100s and 100s of them, drive right through the city everyday ? Surely these can start at the city periphery and reduce hazaar traffic in town ?
Why is the railway station again the only one - Cantonment is still a joke and there's nothing around the 'suburbs'. Tried boarding/alighting at KR Puram ?
A lot of the city is linked by rails - add a little more and u have a railway system ready ? Why dig the whole place up for the metro or waste colossal amounts on monorails etc ?
Why is new construction still permitted in the CBD ? Does it make sense to have more and more offices there ? On a related note, why have traffic cut through Brigade road, Comm street ? They're readymade "malls" if one just paves them, covers them with FRP sheets, and throws in a couple of pavement restaurants, live bands (Chandigarh sector 17, not some distant populationless land being my inspiration).
Why have traffic in the CBD at all ? Have huge lots around it, and FREE/CHEAP electric buses running along circular routes.

The malls: U go and spend hours there. They create tons of traffic, esp once the multiplexes start attracting crowds. Why are these in the heart of the city ?

Hospitals : The already choked, dusty Bannerghata road has just been blessed with 2 humongous ones - Wockhardt and Imperial (bought by Apollo).
a) theres always the traffic issue
b) is there suffficient electrcity supplied from multiple phases ?
c) what about sewage disposal - surely hospitals that big need a special focus on that, for both solid as well as potentially toxic liquid waste ?

The ORR offices:
a) Why isn't the service road done yet ?
b) Why are trucks allowed, sorry, encouraged to park in one lane and effectively block another trying to do this ?
c) Why do most establishments *face* the main road and not an internal access road ?

Generally:
Can not the Hosur and a few other roads be made into limited access high speed arteries with clean well defined points to enter/exit them at 2/3 places in the city max, NO bus stops, NO shops facing them (so nobody's encouraged to just pick up in a min - "doesn't matter"). Have the hospitals in large spaces along these arteries around the periphery of the city - so ppl can get there in 25-20 mins max - and then have the malls well outside. U go there to spend a few hrs anyhow - whats a 15 min drive ? In fact it might be quicker if its a free flowing road!

Traffic woes: Siemens not to expand in B'lore

Traffic woes: Siemens not to expand in B'lore

This is the second or third news article about companies deciding to ship out or grow elsewhere. And its not JUST infrastructure alone - Bangalore is crazily expensive in terms of acomodation, as well as salaries.

Are we shooting ourselves in the foot ? This is both for the city administration as well the software crowd, who're causing spiralling salaries, real estate costs and a lot else. Some sanity by way of a little bit of a real estate correction, salary hike slowdown etc needs to happen to restore sanity and give Bangalore a fighting chance.

Jameshedpur, the Tatas and corp philosophy

UPDATE: Someone informed me this is NOT from Mittal, but from Suhail Seth. Well, the stuff about Jsr is still right.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is apparently from LN Mittal:
(I spent the first 20 years of my life there and somehow buy the Tata's version of welfare and employee relations way more than the Western economics version of it)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that is fast disappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like Narayanamurthy and his ilk. It is one thing to talk and quite another to do and I am delighted to tell you that Ratan Tata has akept alive the legacy of perhaps Indias finest industrialist J.N. Tata. Something that some people doubted when Ratan took over the House of the Tatas but in hindsight, the best thing to have happened to the Tatas is unquestionably Ratan. I was amazed to see the extent of corporate philanthropy and this is no exaggeration.

For the breed that talks about corporate social responsibility and talks about the role of corporate India, a visit to Jamshedpur is a must. Go there and see the amount of money they pump into keeping the town going; see the smiling faces of workers in a region known for industrial
unrest; see the standard of living in a city that is almost isolated from the mess in the rest of the country. This is not meant to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata
Steel,but I strongly believe the message of hope and the message of goodness that they are spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you do have companies in India which look at workers as human beings and who do not blow their software trumpet of having changed lives. In fact, I
asked Mr Muthurman, the managing director, as to why he was so quiet about all they had done and all he could offer in return was a smile wrapped in humility, which said it all. They have done so much more since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was in 1992. The town has obviously got busier but the values thankfully haven't changed. The food is still as amazing as it always was and I gorged, as I would normally do. I visited the plant and the last time I did that was with Russi Mody.

But the plant this time was gleaming and far from what it used to be. Greener and cleaner and a tribute to environment management. You could have been in the mountains. Such was the quality of air I inhaled! There was no belching smoke; no tired faces and so many more women workers,
even on the shop floor. This is true gender equality and not the kind that is often espoused at seminars organised by angry activists. I met so many old friends. Most of them have aged but not grown old. There was a spring in the air which came from a certain calmness which has always
been the hallmark of Jamshedpur and something I savoured for a full two days in between receiving messages of how boring and decrepit the Lacklustre Fashion Weak was.

It is at times such as this that our city lives seem so meaningless. Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata had created an edifice that is today a robust company and it is not about profits and about valuation. It is not about who becomes a millionaire and who doesnt'. It is about getting the job
done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old values intact and this is what I learnt.

I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an Infosys or a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in becoming crorepatis but in making others crorepatis."

Which is exactly what the Tatas have done for years in and around Jamshedpur. Very few people know that Jamshedpur has been selected as a UN Global Compact City, edging out the other nominee from India, Bangalore. Selected because of the quality of life, because of the conditions of
sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tribute to industrial India , then what is? Today, Indian needs several Jamshedpurs but it also needs this Jamshedpur to be given its fair due, its recognition. I am tired of campus visits being publicised to the Infosys and the Wipros of the world. Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An India built on the strength of core convictions and nothing was more apparent about that than the experiment with truth and reality that Tata Steel is conducting at Pipla.

Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evil politicians only talk about but do nothing for) are being educated through a residential program over nine months. I went to visit them and I spoke to them in a language that they have just learnt: Bengali. Eight
weeks ago, they could only speak in Sainthali, their local dialect. But today, they are brimming with a confidence that will bring tears to your eyes. It did to mine.

One of them has just been selected to represent Jharkand in the state archery competition. They have their own womens football team and whats more they are now fond of education. It is a passion and not a burden. This was possible because I guess people like Ratan Tata and Muthurman
havent sold their souls to some business management drivel, which tells us that we must only do business and nothing else. The fact that not one Tata executive has been touched by the Naxalites in that area talks about the social respect that the Tatas have earned.

The Tatas do not need this piece to be praised and lauded. My intent is to share the larger picture that we so often miss in the haze of the slime and sleaze that politics imparts. My submission to those who use phrases such as "feel-good" and "India Shining" is first visit
Jamshedpur to understand what it all means. See Tata Steel in action to know what companies can do if they wish to. And what corporate India needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be better off seeing what Tata Steel has done by creating the Xavier Institute of Tribal Education rather than by proffering excuses for the imbroglio in the IIMs. This is where the Advanis and Vajpayees need to pay homage. Not to all the Sai Babas and the Hugging saints that they are so busy with. India is changing inspite of them and they need to realise that.

I couldn't have spent a more humane and wonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is an eye-opener and a role model, which should be made mandatory for replication. I saw corporate India actually participate in basic nation-building, for when these tribal girls go back to their villages, they will return with knowledge that will truly be life-altering.

Corporate India can do it but most of the time is willing to shy away.

For those corporate leaders who are happier winning awards and being interviewed on their choice of clothes, my advise is visit Tata Steel, spend some days at Jamshedpur and see a nation's transformation. That is true service and true nationalism.

Tata Steel will celebrate 100 years of existence in 2007. It won't be just a milestone in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to my mind of corporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is indeed fitting that Ratan Tata today heads a group which has people who are committed to nation-building than just building inflluence and power. JRD must be smiling wherever he is. And so must Jamsetji Nusserwanji. These people today, have literally climbed every last blue mountain. And continue to do so with vigour and passion. Thank god for the Tatas!

Productivity etc...

http://www.stevemcconnell.com/rdenum.htm

Good points - rarely acknowledged, yet very high impact for our average worklives.