The fun has begun #TeachForIndia

Woke and got up at 0500, courtesy the alarm set on mobile phone. Did chores and final packing. Ate parathas for breakfast, courtesy Mom. Booked and took taxi to the airport after 0800, courtesy Uber. Flights were smooth and on time. Again took taxi to the university, courtesy Uber. Reached the campus just on time at 1700.

Bumped into some known and new faces, kept luggage in room, completed registration/on-boarding formalities.

Completed another assessment, oh yes, I was not even aware of this. This was to assess which grade I wile suitable to teach. Ate dinner, bought some essentials at the store.

Found someone else unpacking in my allocated place, when I returned to room. Kinship, practicality, whatever!

Moved room, unpacked, rested.

Glanced at the itinerary for next 3 days, jam packed. The fun has just begun !!!

#TeachForIndia

Trust, etc.

I have been living at my current place for more than 6 months now. In all this time, I have bought tender coconut water from a pushcart guy fewer than 10 times, usually during the walk from bus stop to home in the evening. Yesterday was one such evening.

I had to travel on a longer route, i was late and thirsty. I was happy to see that he was still selling. Just when I thought of asking for one, I remembered that I was not carrying any money on me. So, instead of asking for a coconut, I told him that I will get some cash and waited in queue for the cash machine, it was at shouting distance.

He shouted, called me to the pushcart and said, "Sir, even if you get the cash from machine, you will not get change and I do not have the same. You drink the coconut water now and pay me next time.". I was pleasantly surprised. I explained to him why I had no cash on me, how I had to borrow cash earlier in the day and took his offer. As expected the water and flesh much more delicious than before.

I got my cash, asked him when he will open in the morning and left. I gave him the money earlier today morning. 

Trust, honesty leading to customer retention, customer delight!

Then I think, 9 years with the employer - does my employer trust me, and dare I introspect, do I trust my employer?

Rape, Punishment & Society

Last week my Facebook page was filled with outpouring of contempt, disgust and hatred for oneself, Indian polity and the society as a whole.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Delhi_gang_rape_case

A lot has been said and done by many ...

1. Tougher laws

2. Death penalty for culprits

3. Swift punishments

4. Candle light vigils

5. Protests and demonstrations

But, the girl is no more. And my Facebook page is now full with New Year wishes. Have we forgotten the incident already? I think I understand most of the sentiments, but am confused with some of the demands being made and actions being taken.

1. Is this just a case of rape? Or this is a symptom of a greater malaise? What is the problem? How would we have reacted if the girl was not raped but shot? Earlier today I read the news about a girl being burnt alive because she rejected a "proposal"by a man. How do we react to this? Is this incident any way similar to  the one of gang rape in Delhi? Would it help the incident of burning if we toughen the punishment to rape? I think the bigger issue here is that of unequal treatment of girls/women in our society. Do we still treat them as objects? Do we still expect them to give in? How do we address this issue?

2. There are laws in plays that prohibit vehicles to have tinted windows. Why was the bus allowed to have tinted windows? Who is the owner of the bus? Is he/she any responsible? Did any one in the public report the bus to police, even for plying with tinted windows? Why not? Where were the traffic cops? Have we tinted the vehicles of our own vehicles?

3. Did anyone help the girl while she lay on the road? Why not?

4. Could this incident have been avoided if we had implemented the existing laws properly? Why did the traffic police not intercept the bus? Is our police force capable of helping us? Can we trust them with the implementation of tougher laws? Or would it become a case of bandar ke haath mein talwaar (monkey with a sword).

5. Was the girl sent to Singapore because her death was inevitable? Is our polity not capable of handling such situations? Are our doctors and medical infrastructure inferior?

Above are the questions that are bothering me. And I don't understand what we achieve by candle light vigils at the India Gate.

Pray, help me understand.

Corruption, Politics, Democracy, Team Anna, India ...

Anna is till speaking at the Jantar Mantar while yours truly could not resist the urge to publish this post. Last couple of days have been very eventful, not just because of the Rakshabandhan and my B'Day. Yesterday Team Anna (TA) decided to make their movement political and today they are announcing/explaining the decision in some detail. I personally am happy with the decision. It is high time we started doing something about changing the whole system - rooting the corruption out of it. Even DS, the person who wrote the first letter to TA to join politics has welcomed the decision. Good that TA wants to take the movement out of the streets and into the parliament. That would be the logical step, or is it?

I have always maintained that, "we can bring about change, we are the change". The movie Yuva (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382383/) captures my thoughts well - common man getting into electoral politics to bring about change. The story of Paritrana (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-01-24/india/27794947_1_iit-bombay-jodhpur-party) is what perhaps needs to be replicated in a much larger scale, all over the country. But alas, most think that this approach is not practical. Yours truly has not done justice by just talking about it but not doing anything about it yet. The moot question is - what can/should be done? I believe the answer to that question can be found by understanding what is wrong in the current system and how the system has ended up in the current state.

Democracy is the government of the people, bu the people, for the people. It is said that politics is the last refuge of all scoundrels. The response to this is that if good people do not get into politics then they should be ready to be ruled/governed by scoundrels. Is it not a no brainer that the citizens are responsible; that the buck stops with the citizens? Will it really be of any help if a small portion of the society tries to force issues by using sit-ins? Do we need a more fundamental change, at the grass roots? Do we need to educate the citizens? Do "good people" need to get into politics? I think that the answer is a resounding YES.

Can we emulate Yuva and Paritrana? Some time back, perhaps last year, AH mentioned something to the effect that Indian electorate is not intelligent. He mentioned that in the context of how easy it is to buy/influence their votes. Today MP, a life long activist, said that TA should think a thousand times before entering into politics; that people acting with morality and principles have been ineffective or have not survived politics. Even SH, the lone crusader from the south, too has reservations about trying to change the system from inside. To top it all, DS said that the ministers and politicians have been elected by the people and if TA thinks they have an alternative then they better prove it. Why are seasoned crusaders skeptical about getting into electoral politics and taking the fight to the parliament? Why does DS seems so confident that TA will not succeed? Most important, what can be done to ensure that TA is successful, what can we do???

Cleaning Toilets & Child Rights

Between the coverage of Olympics and Team Anna's protest many of you would have seen or read about the some reported incidents of students cleaning the toilets of their schools. First, it brought back memories of us sweeping the classroom clean in school. Cleanliness is good hygiene,  it is also part of the culture. We did feel proud to sweep and keep the classroom clean. I was happy to see that students in 2012 too were rooted.

And that is when I read and saw the stories in detail. No, the coverage was not about the good deeds of the children. It was rather about the child rights - children should not be forced to clean the toilets. Yes, I agree that children should be studying and having fun. But should they also not learn about cleanliness? Yes, the government should spend enough on education to employ and pay the cleaners. But till that time are the students expected to use dirty toilets? 

Is it really bad to clean one's own toilet? Is the toilet still not an essential part of home? Why do we still find the toilets of even not so poor households unclean? Perhaps the students learn by doing. Perhaps this will eventually curb the roadside peeing. Many countries require their youngsters to devote at least a year to military or civil service. I guess, cleaning toilets should be an essential part of the experience.

Marriage & Dowry in India

I watched the 3^rd episode of Satyameva Jayate yesterday. The Big fat Indian Wedding. Have you seen it?

The episode started by AK asking what the favourite past time/passion of Indians was. Not surprisingly, the answer was marriage (sic).

He then asks what people want for their marriage, their dreams for marriage. A guy said that he would like to arrive in a helicopter and a girl said that she would like to marry in one of the royal palaces on Rajasthan. It was just 2 minutes into the program and I was feeling disgusted. The voice inside me was shouting – “Please ask these people the same question towards the end of the program. Please do not end this with another letter to some minister or judge.”

In the episode three things stood out for me …

1.    Rani capturing her would be in-laws on camera, making their demands. She did not stop at that, she made the whole recording public. Icing on the cake was a guy was eager to marry her just because of the strength of her character.

2.    The case of the guy who was kidnapped and married off, so that his parents (and/or he himself) cannot ask for dowry.

3.    The case of Bhopal and Bhiwandi where certain communities have made the display of wealth during marriage a taboo.

All these share a similar theme – people dared to think and do different. They were not bogged down by “aisa hee hota hai” attitude. Neither did they stop the reformation to themselves. They took it to the society, to the public in general. Think, what would have happened if Rani and his family had agreed to fulfil the demands; what would have happened if they had just said no and kept quiet.

What stops us from having similar straight and fighting attitude towards everyday life? Only ourselves.

It came through clearly that we should NOT compromise. However small the demand may be, it just degrades the marriage. So, however small the shortcut may be, it compromises the values.

I was really happy that this episode did not end with another letter. I was elated when AK asked the same question again, at the end. (I should become a director or writer, remember the article by Pritish Nandy. His point was not too different from my view of the program.) What really made my day was when the girl who had earlier wanted to marry in the royal palace of Rajasthan, at the end, said that marriages should be minimalistic and if it all it needs to be flashy the bride and groom may share the expenses, NOT the parents!!!

Anyone listening?

Do they make cars in India?

Q: Tata Nano is the cheapest car in the world, where is it produced - (A) India, (B) Mexico, (C) Hungary

Notable comment - "Do they Make cars in India?"

A: (C) Hungary

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00d6wfb/Eggheads_Series_9_Episode_79/

Above is the link to the latest episode of Eggheads, a pop quiz show on BBC in the UK.

The moot question is what can we do to make people aware of "Brand India".