Scams Free India or Free Scams' India ??

If politicians, Ministers, MPs & MLAs all included, shout at each other, wash dirty linens in public, walk to the well of the house, break assets of the house, throw shoes / chappals at each other, shovel paper locket etc, they are all pardoned, because they are elected members of the society so they are above law. Oh sorry. they are above the law because they are the law makers. 

They earn corers of rupees in between each election - yes their declared assets tell the story of at least what they declare if not what they do not, but no law can touch them. Charges are levelled against them by their opponents, CBI inquiry is instituted, but not a single politician gets punished or jailed, because they are above law. 

They fight with each other during the day or during the elections, but they are all together in the evenings over a couple of drinks ( understatement ). They all no that no one can touch them. They are so united that they wage a war against anyone trying to upstage their party.

only a decade or so ago the the level of scams, be it stamp paper scam, Chara Ghotala, Bofors etc, used to be in crore of rupees only. Well those days we used to hear about " Ek Peti or Khoka ", probably because the politicians of those days had only that much capacity to digest. Now with globalization and Tax Heavens such levels have become stone age and too middle class ideas. Such people whose level is only this much, are called chicken hearted. Today the levels of greed and corruption  have gone many notches higher. Like they say version 7, 8 , 9 etc or 2 G - 3 G to signify the next generation  of up gradation of technology, today's scams run in to multi - million or thousands of crore. Signs of living in 21st century, you know.

we all speak about it in hush - hush voices and that too only in the comfort zones of our drawing rooms. If some one speaks or blows the whistle, he is terminated. If terminating such a person may cause danger to them, then they are dealt with in a different way.  CBI / Enforcement directorate / IT hounds are marshalled in to service against such people almost instantly. Such is their defence mechanism.

So how could baba Ramdev succeed? How could Anna or any member of Team Anna be allowed to raise their voices? These politicians have also a knack of buying time by engaging such people in discussions and then dividing them in due course of time. Britishers have taught us well, and the politicians the  best. Britishers did that to Tilak, Gandhi, Savarkar and many more who spoke against the establishment. Today since the government in rule can not afford to put them behind bars or send them to Andman, they use the CBI / IT / ED route to finish such voices.

If Kejrival or Prashant Bhushan spoke some thing in public, they all unite and move a privilege motion against them. How dare can anyone speak like that and about them? And why speak? Dare to caricature them and face the wrath. They have hired people for each occasion. 

Today team Anna & Ramdev appear direction less, because the politicians have created such an impression. After all the media is in their pocket too. 

It is really unfortunate that  we can hardly do any thing about it, except being muted spectators. 

स्वप्न झ डे  फूल  से  ... बन गये स्केम  सभी बाग के बबूल से.. 

जहां  डाल डाल पर करती थी सोने कि चिडिया  बसेरा ..  वहां अब स्केम  करते  बसेरा 

Bharat Band - What Gains ??

Today was a Bharat Band in protest of hike in petrol prices. the score was 80 buses damaged in Mumbai and 20 in Pune, till about 2 PM. I am not sure how much has been the damage of public property in other places.

Looking at this I strongly feel that the Supreme Court should withdraw this privilege of public protest if the parties concerned can not maintain decency and discipline. Slapping fines on such parties is not helping the Nation.

I also feel that such parties should be debarred from fighting state or national elections for a stipulated period, say 1 / 2 elections. If sport persons can be banned for their misbehaviour, why not the politicians?

Single Window Solution - A Vision for Good Governance

Whenever you change the city of your residence, a lot many things need to be sorted out before normalcy is restored. With core banking at least one problem has reduced. You can get the change of address done by just filling a form and give it to the bank. Same is the case with shares. Earlier, you needed to inform every company about the change of address. Now you change that in your DMAT account and your job is done.

Mr. Nandan Nilkeni is working on UID, this identity will be good enough for many an issues. Why the Government does not engage some similar IT expert as a Honcho to solve this problem and simplify the procedure. I feel a single window solution could be thought of.

Once you change the city and move to a new place, what you should need is to get a police clearance from the earlier place. Similarly you should obtain a NOC for issuance of new Gas Connection, Pan Card, Ration Card, Driving License, Passport e.t.c., from the Single Window Solution Provider in your Locality. The NOC should be in two Forms. Form I for the Gas Connection and Form II for all other cards / licenses. It should be only ONE Form with Pages, one each for each of the subject. The system at both the places should be computerized and linked to all cities ( To begin with ).

You submit the NOC – Form I, at the Single Window Solution Provider in the new location and get your Gas Connection immediately from the Nearest Gas Agency, be it same or different. The solution Provider at the new location can check veracity of your NOC and issue you a new gas connection immediately. This would help you to start your kitchen first.

In the mean time you submit the Police Clearance Certificate to the nearest police station in your locality in the new place. This ensures that the police is also in the knowledge of the new arrival in his area of control. Your certificate, of being a good and civilized person without any adverse police records, gets continuity. He should then issue a Clearance Certificate, which is valid for submission of the form for getting your other cards and licenses.

The window should also give you a form II, against the form II submitted to him, on payment basis of course. The Form II could be in downloadable form from the net. Finally you can submit the Form II along with the copy of certificate from the police station and requisite number of photos pasted on each of the forms and the consolidated fee, take the receipt and take a sigh of relief. Your job should get done in the time mentioned on each of the form, meant for each card or license etc separately.

If you don’t get your things done in time, you should be entitled to approach the Lokayukt in your area.

So Simple! Service @ your doors from the Government which is OF the People, By the People and truly FOR the People!!

reality Bites

When you change your place of residence you are in big troubles as you have to deal with many issues which are beyond your comprehension otherwise. It starts with the Gas Connection. You have to deal with it immediately otherwise you will be forced either to eat out or do the cooking yourself. Next in Line is the Ration Card. You need to surrender the old get a NOC and then apply for it in your new city. Though it has lost the importance it had earlier, still it carries some weight.

In case your new residence is on rental basis, then you need to get your lease agreement registered, as a non – registered lease agreement has no validity and is not acceptable as a proof of residential address. In case you are moving to your own house, as is the case with me, you still have a problem if the house is in your wife’s name and the electricity and telephone bills too are in her name. You then need an affidavit from her to an effect which indicates that you being her husband or son / daughter live with her in that place. It will then only be treated as a valid address proof, not otherwise.

Voter Card needs to be changed, if you want to exercise your right as a conscientious citizen. Then comes the Pan Card. It is the simplest of all in my opinion and experience. You can file your returns from anywhere, however I feel you need to go the circle, from where the Pan Card was issued earlier, in case of a query raised by the IT department. So one must change the Pan Card as and when one changes the place or city at least.

Change of address for Passport is also necessary, in case you want to submit it as a proof of residence. It also helps during renewal as you do not have to approach the earlier place of issue.

Same Logic applies for the Driving License. But, it is the most cumbersome procedure of all. I faced it.

I realized on Jan 01, 2012 that my license was due to expire on Jan 06, 2012. I went to the RTO at Pune. I was told that the renewal involves a change of address also, so I needed to get a NOC from the earlier place of issue, which was Hyderabad in my case. I was also informed that if my request reaches them after the date of expiry, the RTO Hyderbad may not issue a NOC. In that case I will have to go through a routine procedure of going for a Learner License and then apply for a regular license. I had the fear of failure at the learner license stage as I have forgotten all traffic signals and rules over the last 40 years or so, and having particularly driven vehicles in cities like Indore, Nagpur, Hyderabad and now Pune, which are all known for rule of Jungle Raj.

So, I decided to give a try to getting the NOC. Luckily my Son – In – Law stays at Hyderabad. I sent a letter by mail giving him or his father an authority to submit my application and take the delivery of NOC on my behalf. Thankfully, it worked. Appa ( Naveen’s father ) did manage to get the NOC. I had passed one hurdle. However, the courier - DTC in this case, played his spoiling role. I got the delivery of NOC after Jan 06, 2012.

I still did not give up. I approached the RTO. I could reach up to a stage when I thought that now it was cake walk, but NO!. He saw my papers and sent me to his boss. He saw all the papers and told me that I would require a Call Confirmation. I did not know what that meant. He scribbled something on my form and sent me back to Mr. Jadhav. He told me that I needed to get the CC from Hyderabd. He asked me to fill up that requisite form. He signed it and gave me and asked me to get it from Hyderabad. The only concessions he gave me were that he would accept a Fax or Scanned copy of CC and secondly He would still accept my application though it has expired technically. I gave a sigh of relief and took the form.

Again, I requested Navin and Appa to help me out and sent the letter through Blue Dart, by paying Rs.300/- which was very high, but the only consolation was that it would reach the destination th every next day. I accepted that as I had very little choices. Next day Appa was to proceed to Chennai, and it was a Saturday. I had the fear that the RTO would be closed because it happened to be a 2^nd Saturday.

My stars were favoring me. Appa had a tough time convincing the RTO guy there, to issue the CC. His contention was that his confirmation was already sent by post. Still Appa could finally get his way. And LO! He had the CC in his hands after spending a couple of hours and some sweat. Naveen sent me the scanned copy. Next day I went to the RTO and submitted my papers, paid the fee and got myself snapped. The last hurdle is crossed perhaps. I was informed that the license would reach me by post in about two weeks.

You now realize how difficult it is to get Change of address for the Driving License. So get it done in time. See the expiry date of your license, keep about a couple of months in hand and start the procedure.

Getting the Change of Address on passport too is cumbersome, but not that difficult. I have yet to do that to really know what are the issues involved. I would post a separate blog if need, in case I experience something rich.

If you do not have a bank pass book in the new city, please get it immediately, with the address and photos, as this is acceptable for the changes in passport. All in all, the process of change of voter card, Pan Card, Passport, Driving License, is not as Simple as it sounds. So don’t take these lightly. I am ready to give free consultancy to anyone in a similar situation.

Passing Shot : 

I fail to understand why government has not thought of computerization and centralization of these systems. You can apply On – Line for a new passport, but you can’t do so for renewal or change of address etc. Why?

A Visit to a Doctor

It is always very depressing to visit a doctor. The bliss of ignorance is shaken the moment the doctor pronounces a slew of probable problems you have and hands you over a big list of tests to be conducted. I detest anyone telling me that I am sick. Still the compulsions of family members forced me to visit the most detested person on the soil.

I had some rashes around my neck, which I was taking very lightly. I knew that whatever I was taking, ( with my experience and knowledge of drugs and having worked in this industry for over 3 decades ), will take about 2 weeks to restore normalcy and if I had gone to a doctor and spent over 2 hours and about 200 bucks ( that is what it takes now a days ) , to see him finally, he would give almost the same advise and medicines and you would almost take the same time to recover. So I avoided all these days. Unfortunately my family members and relatives thought otherwise and pushed me to a corner across the dinner table.

Finally I went to our regular doctor. I spent the time and money and came with a prescription that was verbatim same to what I was taking. But still it satisfied my family and relatives. I continued taking the medicine for a week and had almost the same rate of recovery. Still no one said a word about it, because I was under a doctor’s eye.

I visited him again on completion of the dosage. This time he was forthcoming and admitted that the recovery was not as per his expectations and so he referred me to a skin allergy specialist.

I did not waste a minute this time, as I was scared of the rebuttal in case I had procrastinated.  I spent almost 2hours again before I was finally called in. I saw only a small face with large spectacles above the table with his figure almost crouching under the table.

He looked through his huge glasses and asked in a very sad tone “ Yes, What’s the Problem ”. I was about to say “ I wish I knew ”, but refrained and told him what the issue that brought me to him was. He moved out slowly and got up from his chair. He took a magnifying glass in his hands because probably he thought that his huge spectacles did not have the requisite magnification. Now I could see the complete figure.  A frail body with very thin layer of flesh on the bones walked slowly and gingerly from his chair towards me. I could see excitement in his eyes and movements as he reached near me. He called up his assistant who was on an internship perhaps.

I removed my shirt on his instructions, which sounded more assertive now. He took my hand and moved his magnifying glass around the area of rashes on my hands , then around my neck and on back of my neck.

With a distinct firmness and tint of shrill of excitement he exclaimed “ SEE !! IT IS A CLASSIC CASE OF PHOTO SENSITIVE SKIN ALLERGY !! ” I could see Archimedes in him shouting “ EUREKA ”.

He then asked me what I wear normally. I told him about my liking for Jeans and T shirts. His eyes had a distinct spark and a smile of a winner as he looked towards his intern. He again said “ See !! It is confirmed ”. His magnifying glass still moved around the rash on my hands. Thank god, he did not expect me to say “ I move in BORN FREE attire ”.

Next he asked me when I noticed the first symptoms. I told him that it was some time after my trip to Kalpewadi, Nagaon near Alibag. Now suddenly I could see change in his ginger movements. All of a sudden I could see athleticism in him. He jumped 6 inches , which is all he could, with his fragile body, and said “ Affirmation !!  - This man must have moved on the beach and outside the resort on a sunny day ”. It was like we used to write Q E D after solving a theorem in our school days. I did not react and kept quiet, because I had started enjoying his act by now. He then asked me to roll up my pant, “ thank god again! ” and show him the legs. His magnifying glass shook vibrantly around my calves as the smile on his face broadened.

His next question to me was “ Do you move out like that always in broad day light? ”. I wanted to tell him that I was not a somnambulist, but controlled myself and told him, Yes, I did so for almost 4 decades during my service when I was in projects, but not any more after retirement. He had an answer to that too  -  Now your body and skin are no more accustomed  to the heat and sun and so the allergy on your body. It sounded realistic but funny.

I could relate this logic to the arms, the front of the neck and ears, but how on earth could Sun reach my covered legs and the back of my neck leaving my poor face which was so widely exposed to it.

“ Now, here are some medicines and an ointment and a sun cream.  The shirt you are wearing is of a thin cloth. You should not move out on a sunny day till this allergy goes. Still if at all you have to move out, wear something thicker.”

 I have not seen thicker full sleeve shirts in this part of the country. Still I maintained silence.  “ And yes, cover your ears and eyes, use a scarf if possible, apply sun cream 30 minutes before going out. It will have an effect for about 3 hours. In case you have to be out for a longer time, come in a shady area, apply the cream again, and again as required ”, he said with a confident voice.

This was all in the month of January and in Pune when it is under siege of a cold wave because of heavy snow fall in the northern part of the country. Imagine what would have been the prescription if I had suffered from this allergy sometime in April – July months?

In all probability he would have advised me to wear clothes suiting the people on NORTH POLE. Why?? Mind you all, It would have been only to save me from the effects of scorching heat outside, and save my soul, sorry, body from the ill effects of Photo Sensitive Skin Allergy.

Pune - The Cultural Hub

The cultural Life in Pune is very rich. Long back, before I decided to settle in Pune post my retirement, I had heard and known that the environment and the interest of Punaites is very conducive to all the cultural activities. Probably these factors must also be working as stimulants for the artists from all performing arts. I have been a Mumbaite and thought that Mumbai & Kolkata are the second homes for all performing arts, but Pune does not lag far behind and probably is ahead, more so because distances is not a big issue in Pune.

The art galleries, the Natya Gruhs, the centers for musical programs, are all within the reach of anyone interested in such activities. Besides, the transport is not very bad to ply to and fro from your residences.

I heard Kaushiki Chakravarti at Pimpri Chinchwad in a Diwali Sakal, around 7 kms from my residence at Aundh, and then I could attend her program again twice in as many weeks at Kothrud, again about 10 kms from my house. Similarly I attended the Savai Gandharva the third time at Raman Bag School, since my settlement here three years back , again about 7 kms from my house and this time I could attend another musical program there itself .

The three days musical nights were a treat to the connoisseurs. Pandit Atul Upadhye and Pandit Majumdar, Pandit Ajay Chakravarti, Pandit Rahul Sharma, Begum Parvin Sultana, Sushri Malini Rajurkar and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia simply enthralled the audience.

A few things in such gatherings which do not appeal me are:

That, that the organizers do not allow private video recordings. I fail to understand this. Do they all think that it would affect their business of sales of video cassettes? Even if its’ so, by what percentage? In fact if at all, such things will only promote the classical base of music, which is decaying very fast.

That, No channel promotes it, except perhaps for DD Bharati. This music gets very few sponsors and the music lovers are also less compared to the lovers of POP or any such jazzy music.

I am sure that if Shans, Sonus and the Shreyas can attract large gatherings, these artists can too. I also hope that some day a program will have artists from both the genres of music to enable the public to understand and realize that the Classical form is NO LESS enthralling. its' all about marketing, like we see in cricket and other sports.

That a little basic understanding of Ragas rendered is not given before commencement of the performance. If that is done, may be more and more people would get attracted towards this form of music.

I hope, the organizers come to know about it, realize it and make amends at the earliest. 

Loopholes Galore

You can file an application ON – LINE for a new passport, a new pan card, a new driving license etc etc, but you cannot do so if you want to get the change of address done in any of these documents. You have to approach these offices personally.

Similarly, if you need a driving license at a new place you need to get a NOC from the RTA of the older place. I cannot understand the reasons. I can understand requiring NOC for change of registration number of your car, but for driving license?? Why??

I have been struggling for last two weeks or so on one or other issue in each of these offices. What a waste of Time, Petrol, Money & Sweat?

You need to furnish all the details of sales outside the state to the ST department, every quarter, then they will scrutinize and issue you the C forms. Sometimes the servers are down, sometimes the stationary is not available, sometimes the person concerned is not in place and sometimes they have the great excuse of too much work load ?? This is what my sister in law told me when I talked about my misery.

The other day, HDFC’s global server was down so no transactions could be done almost for half a day. You experience similar situation at railway stations when they say that their servers are down. It is so most of the time.

Has computerization served us and simplified our jobs or are these all the ways for extortion?

Who will help the common man??

IDIOT BOX - not anymore

Whatever we watched on our TV sets, was great fun the other day.

I am sorry these are no more idiot boxes showing some idiotic stuff, compared to the show in the Lower & Upper Houses. The actors on the show played real life acts. Some acted on their own scripts without any director’s hints, where as some played to the tunes and scripts written and directed by their masters. All in all it was really a MAD – MAD World, with best of idiots playing their parts.

The ruling party succeeded in getting past the hurdle of simple majority, forget absolute majority in today’s context, through the help of boycott by SP & RJD & support of Trinamul Congress. How simple is the mathematics of Politics in our country ? You may not enjoy majority in any of the houses, but still you could not only rule the country but pass legislations. “ Power Corrupts & Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely ” !! How very true that is? And how very ironical was it because the matter on hands was none other than ANTI CORRUPTION BILL.

Could it have been possible without money flowing freely across the board or assurances of power sharing etc? Any Manipulation is corruption in my opinion, and should not be tolerated.

When it came to the Upper House, the ruling party realized by the end of the day that they would not be able to get past the stiff opposition, they stage managed the closure of proceedings. Even the opposition played the supporting game by putting up 187 amendments. But, I cannot understand why the house could not be continued and the amendments be heard and voted for or against? OR why top leaders could not meet separately and agree upon some major amendments and arrive at a consensus?

The ruling party should have also shown some flexibility and heard the voices of other parties and also shown empathy towards the voice of the PEOPLE. What is the point in thrusting a policy which has no takers?

The funniest part was that every party said they wanted a STRONG LOK PAL BILL, Even Team Anna Says that, but everybody was out proving how what they said was STRONG and not the other was not?  And to decide what that is, we have the mechanism of voting by voice or division by the MPs. We saw in both houses, what happens when it boils down to that.

I feel that a committee / commission of people from the judiciary, lawyers, NGOs fighting for this cause etc should have formed to come out with a final recommendation with a condition that it would be adopted in TOTO once it reaches the parliament. I think they would still have done a much better job, if the politicians were kept out of the loop. I seriously think that only specialists should decide what the best solution is, and then it should be formalized as a policy.

If you do not agree to this point of view, then see what is happening for all such matters, like Metro ( Underground or Over Ground in Pune ), Reservation in education, then in jobs, in politics and now for Lokpals & Lokayuktas, Permission for setting up NANO Plant ? How an issue which is bad for one state becomes good for the other and vice- versa?

On the Cusp between 2k11 and 2k12

The year is almost on the cusp between the old and the New Year. There were some happy and some sad moments during the year. 

We won the world cup. The world saw the power of networking as the jasmine revolution swept the world. We also saw the effect of networking power when the common man came on the streets wanting control of the Wall Street too. We were also not untouched by the effect of the E – Age. Anna Hazare stoked the emotions of the youth and the aged and we experienced a great movement, probably the only one after our Independence. The movement gathered momentum because we knew about some multibillion scams. Some big names were behind the bars, some continue to remain there.

We lost a few notable celebrities like Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, M F Hussain, Shammi Kapoor, Dev Anand, and Satya Dev Dubey. We also say the turmoil in the world economy which finally had its effect on our economy too. The Dalal Street tanked to almost a two year low. But otherwise there was hardly anything else to cherish and remember.

But the saddest part is that our parliamentarians took the proceedings to a new low when the LOKPAL Bill passed in Loksabha could not get through in the upper house. What an end to the year?

Normally I am quite optimistic about our youth. But this time around, their lack of support to the movement in Mumbai and other cities was evidently disappointing. If they all can go with their families to resorts, sea beaches, hill stations, come on the streets and go to hotels to celebrate the new year at mid night, then what stopped them to join the cause. Is the moment only to benefit Anna & his Team??

Do I sleep over with a Dream and Hope for a better tomorrow and a better new year OR do I sleep with anguish and disappointment??

I am confused.

Malu Maushi - U are Gr 8

My maternal aunt, Malu Maushi, is probably in her late seventies, but still has the zeal and zest for LIFE as a teenager. One can hardly remain out of her circle of influence, if he / she spends a little time with her. She has a great sense of timing to churn out earthly witty one liners and she does so with great ease. She is very soft hearted, like all old timers and is loved by all our family members. She used to recite Marathi poems and songs which came to us like zephyr in the nights of our summer at Makhjan, my native place from the maternal side.

But what I did not know al these years was her other skills.

We all know that all of us Koknasth Bramhans have very high capacity grey matter and hence are very good at memorizing Sholkas and Pahade. She surpasses all of us. She knows all the 18 chapters of Geeta and can recite them even when she is forcibly woken up from her sleep. Her pronunciation is crystal clear, and that is her hallmark.

Recently she participated in Geeta Path competition at local level, state level first and then at national level, and lo behold!! She came out with flying colours and won a prize of Rs.25,000/- and a certificate. That makes her one of the oldest and eldest amongst our family to win such an honor.

My salute to you, Maushi. You make us all really proud of you.

   

Carzy Fitness Mantras

You must have heard or read that in good old days the male members in villages used to go to their farms early in the morning and the ladies followed them later with lunch carried on their heads. The scene was and is little different in urban areas. Some carry their own lunch boxes with them and some get their lunch boxes delivered by the Dabewalas. Some go to eat outside. There may be little variations here and there, but by and large this is what happens in our country. However, have anyone of you heard of Dads delivering lunch boxes on cycle ??

Gods must be crazy or shall I say Dads must be crazy. Ya !! I am one such crazy guy. Post retirement, we guys get crazier, I suppose. Just to give an example, my brother in law drives his scooty for almost 35 kms, one way to pick up his daughter on weekends, and drives back on Mondays to drop her again. Isn’t it crazy?? His reason “ It is a Good way of passing time and learning about the roads in Pune. Am I little more crazier?? Read it out and decide yourself.

Today, first I cycled my way to a bakery about 3 kms from our house to get 10 slabs of Paav Bhaji bread. Don’t worry, it was not for our family. It was for a kitty party being hosted by my elder brother’s wife.

Then my wife realized that my daughter had forgotten to carry her Lunch Box. So, what was the problem, I said. I took my cycle out on this humid and sultry day, put on my helmet and went cycling. I remembered Devbhaiya singing “ Akela Hun Main, Is Dunia Me, Sathi Na Koi Mera Saya….”. The only difference I thought was that I wore a helmet and not a cap, and I was not as good looking as our Devbhaiya. And yes, there was one more difference was that I wore a half pant as against his full pant. And finally one more difference was that I was really sweating and he did not have a droplet on his chocolate face.

I called up my daughter to inform her that her dabba was waiting for her down stairs. She came down. She was proud of me, and so was I too. She was for my effort where as I was for doing something for her.

Net Gains? Besides, we all being happy and proud ( Do I sound Senti ?? ), I burnt around 450 calories. Yes, 200 in the morning on tread mill, and remaining in the two trips which I made on the cycle. One way to keep fighting fit is to pray that my daughter forgets her dabba quite too often and that many kitty parties are held in our society and I am summoned to bring something or other for them.

What a way ??

Small Steps Lead to Big Goals.

Today is a special day for me. I cycled 36 kms and burnt 710 calories in the morning. Well, I feel i am slowly getting ready for big ticket cycling drives, particularly to konkan and belgaum as i had planned when i purchased the cycle.

It took me about 2 and a half hours, with 1 pit stop for tea at Chandni Chowk. The stretch from my house to chandani chowk is little difficult one, with lots of steep roads up the rocky mountain ranges in that area. Chandani Chowk is about 11.5 kms from my house. I felt tired and exhausted because of the extra efforts I had to put, to go up the hills. I took electrol, a couple biscuits, a piece of kaju roll and then lots of water, before the hot tea was served. I could get back my lost energy as I took about 20 odd minutes of break at the tea stall.

I started from there on the express highway towards Wakad Phata, and I realized that nobody would believe me if I tell what I did today. ( Just Kidding, But Still I took the snaps to add fun ). So I stopped on the expressway and took a couple of shots of the spot I had left behind. Here are the shots from my mobile:

The bridge you see is one going to Paud

                                                   A curving road up the hill is the Paud Road

Benz Show Room on the way to Wakad

This road goes to the sports complex. However I was on the high way above.

Sports Complex & Hotel Orchid ( ?? ) taken from the Highway

Took A turn from this under bridge towards Dange Chowk

Hotel Ginger on the Way to Dange Chowk

I did not think more snaps were needed, because from here I came to dange chowk and took a turn to head towards my residence. So no more proofs were needed.

All in all it was a great feeling to have challenged my body. Now my next big cycling drive would be from my house to the first toll post on the express highway and back home. I have seen seen during my car journey from kalyan that it is about 35 kms, one way. So that would be about 70 kms. come one of the Sundays and i will take up this next big step.

mere mobile me kaid khubsurat yaden

                                                                         

                                                                        

                                                                             

these are some of the pictures i took on my mobile during my trip to Indore. It was really a spectacular experience, that evening. 

Spectacular Experience

My trip to Indore this time was spectacular and memorable for many a reasons. I had nothing to do except sleeping or watching the landscape through window of my train, passing by. I preferred the later. The sun started setting and the colors of the sky started changing dramatically by every minute. I missed my DSLR for once, but then I thought, what was the point in repenting over spilt milk? Why not, make best use of what I had at my disposal. My eyes were capturing all that was available and storing in my memory bank. I still have those vivid images in my mind. As this happened I suddenly realized that I have a mobile with a camera. Agreed, that it would not capture the quality images which one gets in auto shot or a DSLR. So what? I quickly got it out from my pocket and started clicking the shots. Now at least there was a chance of sharing this experience with you all.


Earlier whenever I saw any photograph with so different hues and shades of different colors, I used to think that these were all edited in photo shop or some other software, because I had always seen shades of orange – red in early mornings or evenings, grayish or bluish during the days and dark cloudy skies during monsoon. I always used to wonder why was it that I was not so fortunate like they were.

I had got the answers. I had the time, the patience to watch the skies continuously for such long periods at a stretch. Where had I bothered to spend so much time even when I was on some beach or on some hills? Normally you are always in a hurry to move to other spots while on holidays, so as to cover maximum from the check list of to cover locations. But I never realized that such trips are not good for photography. You need to study, choose a right spot and a right time, may be go there again after the initial survey on the previous day etc etc. It all means Photography is all about patience. The only exception, sometimes only, could be that of wild life photography, because you may not get that moment again.

Here I had the all the time and the nature was helpful, because it was bit cloudy and with some amount of dust in the skies. It was a perfect setting for a great experience.

I have captured some shots after I realized that I have some semblance of a camera. Unfortunately I have left it behind in Indore so I am not able to share with you all. But heavens will not fall if I upload these after a couple of days. Yes or No? So wait and watch till then.

A Ganus' Act

We Ganus are a very rare species, I thought. We leave behind our foot marks or at least traces of it and ensure that the people from there keep on remembering us for quite some time. Are we image hungry ? Far from it. We do something which leaves lasting impressions on them. This time I was on a short visit to Indore, just for two days. That was enough for me to do a Ganus' Act. In fact a fleeting moment too is enough. I started from my Uncles’ house at 9.30 AM, well ahead of time of my train’s actual departure time in the afternoon. So what? I did a Ganus' Act and left my mobile charger in his house. Was it enough? Sorry !! Ganus are never satisfied with such small footmarks.

I had a meeting with my friend in his office, spent lovely 4 hours and left for station in another friend’s car. Did I do any Ganus' Act in my friend’s house? Nay !! I was smart enough to collect all my belongings. I had my mobile, specks with cover in my one hand. The other hand was still free for any abnormal behavior ( the society feels so about our behaviors ). I stepped down the stairs. Halfway through, my friend’s wife came out from the kitchen to hand over the dinner pack. What a sweet gesture it was? How could I have rejected that offer and hurt her feelings? I picked up the pack in the other free hand. Now both my hands were engaged. The dangers of Ganus' Acts had increased multi fold. But, I was as cool as cucumber. " Tension Kyon Palne Ka? "

My other friend who had come from Dewas to meet me was with me. See!! You all feel we Ganus are image hungry. Sorry dear all !! People, who have even passed only a couple of years with us, have very high regards and personal contacts with us all, Ganus. We are like flowers with highly intoxicating nectar. Enough is enough, bhai. Let me move ahead with the story. My friend realized that both my hands were engaged, so he opened the door for me. Was it the reason, or, that, that he knew about Ganus' Acts and was afraid about repetition of such an act in the last moments? I did not know and little did I care about it.

Perhaps the destiny had other plans. I had been an administrator and a great manager, a great project person all my life. This is my perception only. People differ with it but do not speak about it, at least in presence, so as not to hurt my inflated egos. Anyways, so I thought of freeing my hands and also organize my suitcase. See how well planned I was? I did not carry it to my friend’s office. I left the suitcase in my friend’s car only, so I had to only change the cars, and I was done with. So far so good.

I kept the items, I carried in hands, in the front seat, and picked up my suitcase from the other car. I kept it too on the front seat. I opened the lock, ( I smiled at my own systemic approach ), then the zip and kept the dinner pack in the suitcase. I realized then that I may not need the specs too, as now a days, I do not read too much in moving trains or buses. The specks and the mobile had moved under the suitcase. So I picked it up from underneath the bag and kept it inside. I locked the suitcase, wiped my hands, clapped at my "  great job done feeling " and sat with my friend in the back seat. The seeds of Ganus' Act were sown. The poor little mobile was still languishing under the suitcase.

Now was the real problem. We hardly had any time at our disposal. We ran against time during those 20 - 25 odd minutes. I looked at the wrist watch constantly as we reached the station. We got down at the station. I picked up the suitcase, thanked the driver profusely and walked away, rather sprinted, towards the platform with my friend. I just got in to the train and waved at my friend, and wished him good luck. We still had about 10 minutes in our pocket. In fact it was me who needed it most then. Had recollected about my poor little mobile, I would have asked my friend to do the rest. But no, Ganus are not always lucky, if they were, they would never ever have ended up in a Ganus' Act.

We spent the time in chatting and chalking about future strategies about working together. The whistle blew. I shook hands with him, and the train left the station. Needless to say that A Ganus' Act happened like a stage managed act.

Salute to all my Teachers on Teachers' Day

My parents were great teachers. Some of the values that I cherish are picked up from either or both of them. Some teachers from my school had a great influence on me. Guptaji who taught us Physics, Sharmaji, Radhakrishnaji & Budhramji who taught us Hindi from 5th to 9th class, Dutt Sahab who taught us Maths from 9th to 11th have had a lasting impact and have shaped up my life to a great extent. Well, how can I forget that I was drawn to writing in Hindi by shri Radhakrishanji. It was in 9th when once he wrote in my homework copy “ Homework Kyon Nahi Kiya ” and I wrote “ Keval Aalasya ” and forgot about it. Later, when he read it, he called me up after his class and asked me to write something on “ Aalasya ” for our house magazine. This was his punishment of sorts. Gradually I started writing and remained stuck to it. A big Thank you to all of you sir. I do not know why nobody, from the teaching community, had a lasting influence in shaping my life during the college days. However, Dr. Deshpande & Dr. Ghule & Dr. Sharma had a great influence. Dr. Deshpande was a born Leader, perhaps. He was the Head of Our Hostels. Students just followed him blindly. Dr. Ghule & Dr. Sharma taught us Physics. My god!! I learnt and loved physics because of them only. Thank You all sir !!

I had one Mr. Ramchandran in BEST. He was a Supervisor. We struck a great chord between us instantly. He gave me a lot of tips on Transformers & ( On Load Tap Changers ) OLTCs. He had a great sense of humor. That reminds me. Once someone said about him “ He is humorous ”. Immediately, he quipped “ Please do not take it otherwise, he only meant that I have good sense of humor ”. Thank You Mr. Ramchandran.

Mr. Bhargava was my boss in ICB, now Technomont India. He taught me to honor timeline in projects. Dr. Krishnamurty & Mr. Subbarao were my superiors in Ranbaxy. Dr. SK made me realize the importance of homework in whatever we do. In a way he taught me that “ The Devil Lies In The Details ”. Mr. Subbarao trained me about delegation and building a team. He also taught me about preparing for presentations. He was also a workaholic, and probably that rubbed on me then. A big Thank You to you both sir !!

Dr. Vijay Kumar Datla, Chairman and Managing Director of M / S Biological E Ltd, was my boss. He educated me that it was not always money. One could still get the desired results without spending lavishly. He also taught me the importance of keeping an open mind, and also showed me the importance of “ Never Say Die ” approach in whatever we do. Sir, I owe you a lot. Thank you Sir !!

Bhai Saheb – shri Shambhudas Ji, my closest friends Balram Sharma - Billo, SMT – Tamaskar, Bhatuncle – AK Bhat. K Aasif & Hemant Anawkar too had telling impact on my life. If bhai saheb & Billo imbibed in reading habits, SMT & AKB taught me a thing or two about Patience and if AK skilled me to be dynamic and a visionary, then HA taught me to be a good human being. I have learnt to live with a never dying spirit from Kedar, Swanand & Dr. Sangita Kohli too. My association with them during our treks taught me not to just live but be ALIVE. Thank You all dear ones !!

What a mix of Learning Experience, it has been so far? I have been learning something every day. As Dr. Ian Sykes, our consultant in BE once said “ It should be a Journey in Discovery of Life ”, and truly it has been so far.

A big Thank You, Once Again to You All, for being great teachers in my journey so far !!

August Kranti

Last two weeks have been enriching and a great learning experience for me. Honestly, I had lost faith in our politicians and our parliamentary system. My frustrations were on a all time high also because I thought we all were only good Argumentative Indians ( As Amritya Sen says in his book with the same title ) in the drawing rooms or at best in local trains or restaurants, over a cup of tea or a mug of beer to cheer our sagging morals. But no I was proven wrong once again. It’s said in Geeta “ yada yada hi dharmasya …” that whenever there is a danger of dharma & truth losing the battle, the God takes birth in some form or other as a savior.

Well this time around too it is he who was on the scene, directing a finger towards Anna to be the torch bearer, as Anna himself put it in his simple way. And Anna did an excellent job of bringing people from all sections and age groups to stand behind him for this noble cause. Graft was the focal point in our lives for a long, but it reached its’ nadir in recent past. So it was a very apt time for someone like Anna to pick up the torch. We needed to rise from the depth of despair and darkness hovering around us as dark clouds.

The politicians had the arrogance of absolute power and of misplaced authority they thought they all have to do anything and still get away with it. The fact that not a single politician or a bureaucrat had been subjected to a strong punitive action for a serious graft in last six decades, gave them this misplaced notion and took them on their ego trips. Someone or something was needed to push them and their arrogance to a corner and force them to take some corrective and positive steps. Well, this movement did that. It’s only sad that it took them so long a time to gauge the mood of the common man.

Agreed, we have hundreds of things wrong with our country and system, but every once a while something or someone comes along and restores our faith and hope. There may be a section of society who criticized Anna’s methods and means. Still even they cannot but agree about and discount the incredible impact this movement has had on our polity and society. The same youth who were termed the other day as net savvy - chat hungry, disco loving people, living on staple food of Valentine days, Mothers’ & Fathers’ and Teachers’ day greetings, stood behind Anna for a better future. Indeed they all want a CHANGE and with immediate effect, and so do we all.

Yesterday was a defining moment in the history of Independent India. The politicians rose to the occasion, albeit later the expected. The debates in the parliament were of a very high order. If Arun Jaitley & Sushma Swaraj were extraordinarily brilliant, the young Turks like Varun Gandhi & Sindia were good too. Abhishek Manusinghavi and Sitaram Yechuri were excellent in their matured and measured speech. Our PM, Shri Manmohan Singh too acted and spoke like a statesman. All in all it was reminiscent of good old days when Atal Behari Vajpeyi, Ram Manohar Lohiya, Somnath Chatterjee, Pandit Nehru, Krishnamenon and others laid the foundation of a strong democratic parliamentary system. Finally a resolution was passed with thumping of benches, giving a sense of unanimity to the agenda of the debate.

It’s truly a win – win situation for the civic society and the polity. It’s truly a victory of our people and our democracy. What also stood out was the impeccable behavior of the masses. For once not a single untoward incidence took place anywhere in the country. No damage to any public property was reported the administration, the police and the people, all of them, need a salute. It showed us all that our voices can be heard and registered even through non violence.

Three cheers to Gandhigiri in full show. It was really a great reality show, peacefully conducted by the anchor Anna and his team.

Anna's Andhi - End Game in sight

As I write this blog the end game may be right underway on the Anti Corruption Protest. Our Honorable PM Shri Manmohan Singh, Leaders of Opposition Party in both the houses Smt. Sushama Swaraj & Shri Arun Jetli showed great statesmanship in appealing jointly to Shri Anna Hazare to end his fast. What stood out also was that the Speaker of the house, Smt. Meera Kumar Stood and joined hands in the appeal. I felt it was a great step forward. The voice is heard and registered and so Anna should have agreed to end the 10 day long fast. But Anna showed no signs of relent. He wanted the three points of disagreement to be discussed and debated in parliament and a resolution to be passed in favour of a strong Lokpal Bill. Finally the government appears to have agreed on that too. Both the parties have come to a common midpoint, and thus have both been victorious. It’s truly a Win – Win Situation.

It certainly paves way for a stronger bill. I am in complete agreement with all the three points. The strongest being the inclusion of Lokayukts in States and Citizen Charter. The Lokpal bill would certainly have been a meaningless exercise without these two points.

This protest is perhaps only the beginning of many such struggles if we really want to cleanse up the system.

Three Cheers for the relentless efforts of Anna, Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Kejariwal, Medha Patkar, Justice Hegde and many more team members and of course the thousands and thousands of people across the country and of course all the members of parliament.

Jan Lok Pal Bill - A common Man's Perceptive

I have heard Nilkeni's interview on IBN. How ironical ? His colleague - NKN has totally divergent view about the govt. and its functioning.

Nilkeni's ideas are good but they will take 5 more decades to implement, given the political will available today and for will be generated in decades to come. And that is not people and the youth of today do not want. They are used to quick solutions now, like the quick money, quick food, quick entertainment etc. So in this case what they want is not rhetoric any more, but a quick positive step. They all know it is going to be an uphill task but they want a beginning.

 

It is 4 / 5 decades now since the Lokpal was first tabled in parliament. Nothing had been done as yet. The current bill is a carbon copy of the previous one. Just that. They do not want the bill to have any teeth. And mind you it’s not the congress alone; none of the parties want a stronger bill against corruption. The answer to the " WHY " part is very simple. Who will save them then ? The generation of today is highly aware and conscious about their hard paid tax money. So they are frustrated and have lost faith in the politicians of the day. They had reached the Tipping Point and were looking for someone to kindle their anger and frustrations. They saw the hope in Anna's Movement and so the spontaneous support from all corners of the country. Not for nothing many luminaries and well educated people have joined the movement. And why not ? Who is not affected by this monster called " Corruption " ?

 

And see the arrogance of the government and their mental corruption because of their ill placed misconception of their absolute power. They pick the team and put them in Tihar Jail under an alibi of threat to the civic society and then without batting an eyelid, shamelessly withdraw the case and leave them free. Is it not a classic case of " Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely " ?? One day they involve them in the joint draft committee and on another day they do not hesitate to call the team as highly corrupt bunch from top to bottom.

 

They ( the politicians ) do not hesitate to tell the people of the country that the police did what it felt was right on august 16 th and later our Yuvraj Rahul meets PM and they decide to release him. They want to shamelessly project Yuvraj as a highly humanitarian person and take credit for the release. If Police was the authority who took the call of arrest then how come the politicians could take the call of release ? How could they perceive the threat perception differently ?? Is it not hypocrisy ??

 

The politicians also argue that parliament is supreme, and only they have the powers and authority to make a law and that civic society does not have a right. Agreed, but little do they all realize that:

 

• They are mere representatives of the people, by the people and for the people. They are in fact only care takers of our interests. They are elected only for 5 years, before seeking peoples’ votes again, where as if at all there is no change, it is in the people. So who is supreme they or the people?

• They are now a days getting elected by getting about 20 odd % of the votes, out of 50 odd % votes polled. So how can they claim to be representing majority of the society?

• When they feel, and they feel quite often, they seek advice from National Advisory Committee, whose members are not elected members, then why not take opinion of the civic society.

• Every year, they seek opinion of various sections of society, industrialist before the Financial Budget. Why do so if the voice the people is not to be heard?

 

The simple point is “Why not engage more experts from the civic society”. Let them all discuss it thread bare with the Anna Team, including the standing committee, the politicians from all the parties and discuss pros & cons of all the issues and then table it in the parliament. We will then reach a consensus and passing of the bill will not be an issue then. The problem is that the ruling party is on a high ego trip. So unless that is gotten over, the probabilities of getting an amicable solution and resolving the deadlock appear to be very dim.

 

 

 

 

 

Anna's Andhi - 2 nd wave

This time around the Anna Andhi has swept the country through the length and breadth of our boundaries. Even the NRIs residing in different part of the world have joined the struggle. I am very pleased to see the solidarity shown by the Nobel Prize Winner – Su Ki. What is most pleasing to the eyes is the peace maintained both by the swarm of people and also the administration. This shows that if both the parties show restraint, the views and point of views can still be sent across. I strongly feel that Anna and his team, well supported by Shri Shri Ravi Shankar and Baba Ramdev need to be complimented, and so the Police and administration of all the places. I have a gut feeling that this movement will go down in the history as one of the most peaceful agitations against the establishment. I will not be surprised if Anna gets a Nobel for peace in times to come.

More on it and our " 64th Independence year " later !!