ExpertDabbler

Read this interview.

Very intelligent. Passionate. sooooo pro-poor. This much i understand.

She has written a few books. One was the designed, artistic, literary, booker-winning type - God of Small things. I fell in love with it’s style. I’m still in love with the style. I know there are 1000s who will disagree but lets just say its a matter of personal likes.

Then she has also written non-fiction. Against corporatization, globalisation etc. Wonderful writing. Thought provoking. Illuminating. So much so you are temporarily blinded from reality.

Let me tell what I don’t understand with Arundhati Roy. Most of her books are not read by the people she so eloquently writes about - the oppressed, disadvantaged, under privileged-types.

One of her books, The ‘Algebra of Infinite Justice’ was being priced at 250 bucks or thereabouts. So its way beyond the reach of the oppressed, disadvantaged people she is talking about.

Actually, its been read by MNC coolies like me. You know, the jobless, single, with all the time in the world and atleast enough money to buy a book from Landmark for 250 bucks. So where did i get this money from? You guessed it right, Thanks to offshore outsourcing and globalization.

So, she neither writes in a language so that the people for whom she is voicing can understand, nor are those people her target audiences in the first place.

Now these are the points in which i need some clarification.

A) Either she is a professional who specializes on writing about the other side of Globalization, Corporatization etc. Let’s not get into if its right or wrong. Remember, its free market economy - everything goes so long as there is a market.
If at all her style of writing has a market, let her do that. Why not? But in this case, she is as good or bad as an MNC coolie like me. Because she is writing about globalization, to folks who have benefitted from globalization, and makes money,along with her publisher (I think it was Penguin by the way).

She has got no right to cry foul about the MNC coolies, nor the government which supports such globalization, nor the Prime Ministers as if we are scum of the earth because she is very much part of the scum. She is catering to the scum. To put it in her style ‘The scum is her market’.

B) On the other hand, if she sees herself as a revolutionary, then she better starts the following soon

1) Translate all ther writings to all the regional languages, to start with, atleast malayalam - her own mother tongue, so that the ‘indigenous’ people (as she is so fond of calling them) can read, understand, get enlightened, and start a revolution.

2) Distribute her translated writings for free. At the very least, she can give a free download version on the net. So that she can reach more people soon and let her ideas catch on like wild-fire.

If she does neither A nor B then, then it means she is of type A but tries to project herself as B - a person worse than George Bush.

Need I say more??

[PS: I am ever so prepared to reverse my opinion and call her the Angel or Activist or whatever she likes to be called, if she can tell the world that she did not get any royalty from her Publisher MNC]

Q: Naayadi Peyyadi endral enna?
A: Naayadi Peyyadi yenapadavadhu yaadhenin ‘ivan rombo nallavan da, evlo adichaalum thanguvaan ‘ nu Australian batsmen Indian bowlers ku kudukaradhu!

Q: Vetty Bandha endral enna endru oru siru kurippu varaiga!!
A: Indian bowlers adikadi muyarchi pannuvadhu. Udharanama namma Indian Bowler Manasaatchi oru over podum bodhu epdi irukkum nu paarpom

1st ball. Wide outside the off stump. Wide given.

IB manasaatchi: cha wide. Parava illa. Adutha balla compensate pannidanum.

2 nd ball. Wide down the leg side

IB manasaatchi: Epdi first ball offside la wide pottom. Indha ball leg side la pottutom. Nammale wicket ku rendu pakkamum poda mudiyum nu prove pannitom.

3rd ball. Overpitched. Cover driven for four.

IB manasaatchi: I lured him to drive. Adhe dhaan panninaan. Four pona parava illa. Namba expect panradhu panraana? Adhaan mukiyam!! Adutha ball namba short pitch a poduvom nu nenapaan batsman. Kirukkan. Namba yaaru?!!

4th ball. Overpitched again and cover driven for four again.

IB manasaatchi: hehehe. Epdi ivana namba vechutten. Adutha ball vera madhiri podanum.

5th ball: Short pitched. Pulled over midwicket for four more. Too add honour to glory it’s a no-ball too.

IB manasaatchi: Namba no-ball um poda muidyum nu kamichutom. Andha kaalathile Wasim akram ku dhaan rombo variety nu solvaanga. Ippo Akram ku aduthu namba dhaan!! Oru over la evlo variety! Ella vidhamaavum pottachu!

Indha ball um short pitched a poduvom nu expect pannuvaan batsman. Namba yaaru??!!

6th ball: bowled full on the batsman’s legs. Effortlessly flicked to midwicket for four more.

Rahul Dravid gives a Kappale Kavundhu Pochu look.

IB manasaatchi: Captain rombo feel panraaru. Koncham run povudhu nu nenaikiraaro? But namba strike bowler la? Koncham apdi ipdi pova dhan seyyum!! Seri pona povudhu.
Micha 3 ball well outside the offstump poduvom. Captain kovichuginu aduthu over kudukaama irundhida poraaru!

Actualla innaiku run-e poyirukaadhu. But enna panradhu. Enakku bowl panna solli kudutha End seri illa. Northern end. Innaiku ‘Vadakku soolam ’ nu daily sheet calendar la potrundhadhu! Appave nenachen.

7th,8th and 9th ball (since he bowled 2 wides and 1 no ball) : Bowled well outside the offstump. Adhai thottu wicket keeper kitte catch kuduthu out aaga avan enna Indian Super Star batsman a? The batsman having made a killing for the over prudently lets it go to the keeper. The umpire gives a close look but then decides,’pozhachu pogattum ivan aprom eppa dhaan over mudikaradhu? namakkum kaal ellam valikudhu. Square leg pakkam poi koncham relaxed a iruppom!’

And so he decides not to call it a wide!

IB manasaatchi: Last balla potta udaney, stylea batsman a parthu look vidanum..Ennamo avan beaten aana madhiri!. Who knows yedhavadhu Ad film director nammaloda profile view TV la parthuttu nalla irukku nu Ad ku book panninaalum pannuvaaru. Namalum naalu kaasu parkanum la!??

Q: Indhiya cricket il vazhakamaaga nadakum arpudhangal enna?
A: Neraya irruku. Udharanama India – Australia match result ellam match nadaradhukku munnadiye kitta thatta….illa illa…. urudhiyaave therinjudum. Match nadaradhukku munnadiye result theriyaradhu periya adhisayam illaya? Aana idhu indhiya cricket la sarva saadharanam!!!

Q: Indhiya vil Puriyadha pudhir enna?
A: Indhiya cricket rasiganin napaasai dhaan. Ethanai match naayadi peyyadi vangi tothaalum, innum match na irukara velai ellam vittutu road la TV kadai kitte ninnu match parkuradhu vera enna vaam?

Q: Indhiyargalin nagaichuvai unarvu ku oru udharanam solla mudiyuma?

A: Innum 1983 world cup jeyichadha TV la potu kaatitu, Adutha world cup namakku dhaan nu sila commentators solradhu ellam vera enna nu nenaikireenga? Ponga saar, ungalukku Sense of Humour e illa! Idhai ellam poi seriousa eduthukittu!!

Well, thats what it seems like whenever our law enforcement authorities sit and frame cases. This Afzal case seems to be another instance of creative fiction writing, albeit with lots of logical holes which would make a Vijaykanth film look realistic in comparison.

Just like history repeats itself, we just know this happens whenever a case is subject to public scrutiny in all its details. This is the same from Kanchi Mutt case till Afzal.

Actually i can see a parallel to this issue and the way Income Tax is being collected in this country. While there is a complete parallel economy running, the government and the tax authorities are more than keen to squeeze every penny of the honest tax-paying salaried class. I guess the same happens in Law Enforcement too. Since insurgency is rampant in some parts, the authorities probably want to catch hold of someone to close cases soon so that they are seen as doing work in the eyes of their political masters. That their job is thankless adds substantially to this.

The issue is not so much as to whether Afzal should be spared from death penalty but that if we know the truth at all. Even he does not claim complete innocence.
And if at all he is one, i’m sure he is neither the first nor the last to suffer such a death in this country. If at all he is innocent, his life is no more or less important than the thousands who died a ghastly death due to terror activities, be it Mumbai train blasts or the countless other blasts in India about which we’ve done nothing. We just moved on.

But why this ‘framing’ by police? Its high time something is done about this.

For all we know the criminal laws and their requirements to get one convicted is so full of loop holes to deal with terror activities. Probably this leaves the police with no other option but to botch up stories to add strength to their cases. If that is the case then we might need to revamp the criminal justice procedures to suit the times of the day. Its even sadder that our highest courts make ‘note’ but nothing more of such gross attempts to make up stories.

But for now we have to conclude that indians are an imaginative lot only that there is abundant talent in the most inappropriate of places.

Blame it on my luck, whenever my vehicle gets a puncture, its almost always on a sunday afternoon, which means its a pain to get someone to attend to it.
This Sunday was one of those days. Thankfully it was very close to my residence so I managed to go home.

The next day morning I tried in vain to get someone to come to my residence and look into it. I went to office and returned in my friend’s bike.

Tuesday was Ramzan and I was at home. My first task was to attend to this puncture. I caught hold of a person nearby who was willing to come to my residence to remove the punctured tyre. He came back after two hours to fix the tyres. He said there were two punctures, quite big ones. When I asked about his charge, he demanded 70 bucks. I was taken aback by this for a moment. I mean, there was a time not so long ago where I’d given 10 bucks for a puncture. But then those were the days, not so long ago I was earning considerably less too, so I thought it was ok. ‘Blame it on inflation’ i thought.

Apparently the rate is more if the puncture demands vulcanizing.

He added that he charges Rs.20 extra if he comes out of his shop to attend a puncture.

I just chit-chatted with him for some time. The fellow’s name is Malleeshwara Reddy. He should be about 23-24 yrs old. His native is Kalahasthi. He comes from an agricultural background. All his family members are still in his native.

After some time, he told, “Rombo naal kalichu inniku dhaan velaiku vandhikuren”

Me,”Yen”

“SRP yaanda vizhundutten. Idho indha bike la dhaan”

“Kadavule enna achu?”

“Mandayile Adi”

“Ayyo, Aprom!“

“Avlo dhaan aal out nu nennachaango elarum. Epdiyo pozhachu vandhutten.”

“Nalla velai”

“Aspathiri pona, 3 naal la 35,000 ruba agi pochu. Epdiyo pozhachu vandenenu nenachuka vendiyadhu dhaan”

His boss had given the amount.

Working professionals like those in the IT industry would have health insurance. Where would people like Malleeshwara Reddy go for money? Its his good luck that his boss had given some money. How many vulcanizing shop owners, in general would have so much cash to spare in the first place, let alone having the heart to spend on his employee? He also told that ever since he had recovered, his boss is asking for that money from him. He gets a monthly salary of 2000 plus a accommodation plus food. His boss expects him to work for free till he repays the amount.

Why can’t our governments come forward and initiate a group health insurance scheme for people like Malleeshwara Reddy?

Have their lives become dispensable and valueless just because they are poor?

I’m sure such schemes will cost much less than ‘ilavasa colour TV’ but 1000 times more useful and effective.

Malleeshwara Reddy left soon after but the questions he posed in my mind lingered for a long time.

It started to rain by around noon today. From noon till evening it was kinda raining on and off. But from evening onwards, Mr. Varuna Bhagwan has definitely shifted gears. It took me about 75 minutes to come from Nungambakkam to my residence amid solid pouring (some innovative route selection helped). It’s been 2 hours since i reached home and the rains have’nt stopped for a single minute.

Looks like going to office tomorrow will be a separate project in itself!!:(

Q:How is the opening?
A:Mind blowing. The opening is similar to Rajnikanth film.

—-Simbu on Vallavan’s opening in Sify.

My comments: Ada paavigala!, Rajini padathodaa parking collection kooda theradhu da ungalukku, ipdi manasaatchiye illama statement vidareengale da!!

Q:People at airports all across India curse your airline every day. Flights are often late, if they take off at all. Complainants against Air Deccan can fill the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi
A:Things have actually improved…..Cancellations have come down to just 60-70 flights a week…….
—–Captain G.R. Gopinath, Managing Director, Air Deccan

My comments: Just 60-70 cancellations in a week? That’s some improvement indeed. But going by your reputation, you can only improve. You’ve got nothing to lose on that front!

A:
“….you know what Jet, Sahara and Indian Airlines did in those days? If I had one flight at 10 o’clock, they had 10 flights a day. They would put a flight at 9.30 and slash the fare below mine and increase it on all the other flights ”
—–Captain G.R. Gopinath, Managing Director, Air Deccan

My comments:
And Captain Gopi decided to rectify this. He was determined to give his customers an exerience that obliterated the need for the other airlines to lower their fares. Now the situation is that other airlines can start 30 mins behind Air Deccan, charge 50% more and still passenger would worship them.

My serious comments: Call me old-fashioned, but no business, no business ever will make money without repeat customers. The big deal for Captain Gopi, is to make people who’ve travelled before on Air Deccan to fly again with hopes, optimism, cheerfulness.

Businesses do not operate in vacuum. Services industry like aviation is¸ to a considerable extent¸ driven by perceptions. Gopinath can expand his fleet¸ shuffle agents¸ take stern actions¸ cut costs and do thousand and one things BUT not at the expense of customers¸ more specifically their egos. No matter how little one is paying (Get real¸ Rs 99 is just a facade¸ who pays that fuel surcharge of Rs 650 and PSF of Rs 225 and transaction fee of Rs 50? you and me)¸one desires to be treated like an airline passenger¸ not a dirt (read railway traveler). Pronouncing authorities corrupt and declaring passengers ignorant does not spare Deccan of its responsibilities. Worse it hurts people’s perceptions and sentiments. You can not yell at your customers¸ your sole source of money. Whom is Gopinath betting his future on? The middleclass¸ of course¸ with more income and developed taste buds. Yelling¸ shouting¸ insulting and blaming (as Gopinath did) him is the surest way to lose him for all.
Comments by: Atulan on 9/18/2006 4:07:58 PM

i could not have put it better.

Full text of the interview is available here and ofcourse you need a free subscription id or make a cyber visit to bugmenot.com

My craving for crackers was at its peak when I was in my 4th and 5th standards. Like all kids, I was dreaming of a day when Dad would get me crackers for more than 100 Rs. That was the benchmark those days. Appa always said “Kaasai kariyakaadhey”. Later as i grew up i realized that advice was just to conceal the fact that we could not afford crackers for more than that amount.

I clearly remember a few occasions when we had to wait till Dad came home on Deepavali eve late in the evening, to get our new dresses. That was why I could relate so well to the scene in “Dhavamai Dhavamirundhu” where Rajkiran works till late in the night on Diwali eve to get a pair of dresses for his boys. That was not just a realistic scene, that’s real life. I’m sure there are thousands of fathers who still do that for every Diwali eve.

As years went, we grew in stature but inexplicably i lost interest in crackers. To the extent that my parents had to force me to burst one for the sake of Shasthram and Sambradhayam and whatever. That aversion towards crackers remain till this day
Having said that its still great entertainment to see small kids running around in their new dresses with a bunch of crackers in their hands and loads of excitement in their eyes. Ah! Seeing them is a refreshing experience indeed!

I tend to think that grown ups burst crackers just as a way of saying they are not that old after all
But this was also the occasion for meeting friends… If there’s anytime i miss Coimbatore, its got to be Diwali. I remember the days when we used to roam around all over the city in our bikes in new dresses, visiting each and every member of our gang and having a taste of their pakshanams. And then at last settling down in my friend’s place in T. V. Swamy Road till his parents came shouting “Dei, Mani 11 agudhu, naanga ellam thoonganum!!”. Those days there were no mobile phones and my dad would dutifully disturb their parents to enquire about me and scold me over phone to return home soon
For some reason that oor suthufying never happened in Chennai
Here my mom goes about receiving and distributing sweets. The real danger for me will start when she will thrust all of her “collections” from the neighborhood in my mouth later in the evening. More than the immediate effect, the consequences will be deadly the next day morning
Diwali also meant time for movies those days. We once had the gall to plan for Thalapathi in 1991 The idea was to go to the theatre very early in the morning so that we can watch Thalaivar first day first show and brag about it in school (most of my friends were Rajini Rasigans). I took out my cycle and went near Baba complex at about 7.30 in the morning and the Q was right upto Flower Market Bus Stop in Mettupalayam Road
Appuram enna Veetukku Poi “Sirappu Oliyum Oliyum” la “Raakamma Kayyathattu” song parthu Samadhaanam aanom

I think Thalapathi and Guna were released on the same day.

Later in the evening, by some stroke of luck, one of my friends got tickets for ‘Gunaa’ in KG Complex, Anupallavi. The show which was to start at 6 PM started at about 7 PM. I reached home at about 11 PM much to the chagrin of my dad.

The other movie i saw on Diwali day was Thevar Magan in the year 1992 i think.

All in all, Deepavali has always been an occasion for meeting our friends and loved ones and having a good time. That has remained intact till date across the country.
Even people who do not visit their families for a whole year choose to go home for Deepavali stands testimony to this. Try visitng the airports, the railway stations or the bus terminus on Diwali eve.

Even though its mostly long distance calls and Voice chats for me nowadays but its still heartening to see those conversations are not formality “Happy Diwali” calls but that which stretches for hours. Let’s hail the spirit of Deepavali!

Iniya Deepavali Nalvazhthukkal to you and your family!!!

My childhood friend Keerthi from cbe, stays in Pune and he’s been nachufying me to visit Pune for quite sometime. Since I was in Mumbai anyway, I thought this was the time to make the Pune visit. The only opportunity was on a Sunday which was a free day. The plan was to start for Pune on Saturday evening after the classes, reach Pune by night, stay there for the most part of Sunday and leave for Mumbai by Sunday night.

I had asked one of my friends to get me a bus ticket to Pune on Saturday evening. He promptly handed me the tickets on Saturday Morning. The bus was at 7 PM in the same day. Till that time I was under the impression that like all other travel, train journey would be faster and that I am boarding a bus because of practical reasons like distance between Powai and boarding point for train.

The auto-wallah dropped me in Chembur. I was supposed to board the Pune bus from there. The ticket was about 230 bucks. Ange ponappuram dhaan therinjidhu that place was like a mini-koyambedu for all omni buses.

The ticket header says “Sri Krishna tours and travels”, the boarding point was mentioned as “Yogi Travels” (which turned out to be wrong, it was meant to be “Yogi Hotels” stop). The bus was mentioned as just “Neeta Volvo”

Most of the buses have names entirely different from any that I would like to see. When I asked someone in my butler Hindi, he just said “wait here”. None of the buses display their destination in their boards. Endha omnibus la board irukku? That was not the boarding point for just Pune bound buses. I was astonished to see people traveling to places like Bangalore, Gulbarga, Hyderabad, Goa, Hubli.. you name it, thru these onmnibuses. There were like 5 buses in 5 minutes and I could not figure out which goes where. Thiruvizha vile kaanama pona madhiri irundhudhu…

My friend also kept calling the bus as “Neeta” Volvo. I initially thought this was a model of Volvo. As it turned out, the Neeta part was the name of the travels. This “Sree Krishna” was the name of the agent. Later I discovered the Neeta office and asked them for my 7 PM bus. It was already 7:20 and I was kind a scared that I’d missed my bus. He again said “Wait here”.

After about 5 mins, he shouted “Poona ”, I just wanted to confirm if this was the 7 PM bus. He casually said that I can board any of their Pune bound buses!!

Enna matter na those guys operate a Volvo bus between Mumbai and Pune every 15 minutes! Not to mention they are just one among the N other operators who run Volvo A/c buses between Pune and Mumbai. Only that their frequency is like one every 30 mins!.

Why would so many people take a bus to go to Pune? I was to figure out the reason about 45 mins later.

I was anticipating something like 4 hours journey. The bus reached Panvel at about 8:20 PM. that is ok considering the peak hour traffic in Mumbai .

The Panvel-Pune expressway was nothing like I’ve seen and experienced in Indian Roads before. And mind you, I’ve seen and used our very own ECR and our GST till dindivanam too. What would you feel like if you find 3 Lanes wide open for you on one side, followed by a very wide center median, and then another 3 lanes for the oncoming traffic?? One does not expect to see such roads in India. The bus speed was equivalent to a superfast train, and effortlessly at that. Every now and then I could read signs like “Do not stop on the expressway” etc. maybe for security reasons.

It was 5 mins past 10 when the guy started screaming “Wakkad!” - the place where I was supposed to get down in Pune. We had reached Pune after exactly 2.30 hours from Chembur!

On the other hand, I was told the trains typically take 4 hours (except for Deccan Queen one of the most prestigious trains in India, which manages the distance in about 3.30 hours)

The stretch of 90 odd kms in the expressway was covered in something like 80 mins which included a 20 min break in a wonderful highway motel. I was so impressed with that motel that I will devote an entire post for that. This also includes a small ghat section just before Lonawala. But for the stoppage, I guess he would’ve reached Pune in about an hour from Panvel!

In other words they average like 60 miles per hour (90 odd kms per hour). Which means they should maintain a good 10 kmph more than what they average. Not to mention some cars whizzed past the bus as if we were stationary!.

Obviously, I was very pleased to find such a road in India. No wonder this expressway has become the preferred way of travel between Mumbai and Pune.

But I also thought about the pollution and the consequences to the environment. Thousands of vehicles use this expressway and its anybody’s guess about their impact on the environment. I think those who maintain the expressway should plant trees wherever possible in the medians.

But all in all, we need more such roads in other parts of India. Our very own ECR looks like a single stretch road when compared to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

For a course which was scheduled to begin on Wednesday morning in Mumbai, I was sitting in my office till about 11 AM on Tuesday. Add to it the facts like
I’ve never been to Mumbai before nor did I have any clear idea about my accommodation and last but not the least, my Hindi skills (or the lack of it)

So flight was the only realistic available mode of travel.

After having heard horror stories about our so called low cost airlines, I promptly ruled out the likes of Air Deccan even from my consideration.
But ruling out Air Deccan was the easier part. The tough nut to crack was deciding which one to fly.

INDIAN tickets were available at 2900 or thereabouts and KF was about 200-300 extra.
To be honest, I was confused which one to choose. I asked my friend Madhu and he promptly and categorically said “Dei nee King Fisher dhaan nee porey, mithadhu ellam consider a pannadei)

In the end I was happy I made the right decision.

To put it in a single sentence, King Fisher rocks in every sense of the world.

Be it the chappathi air hostesses (adjective courtesy: Syam), in flight entertainment, hassles free check-in, on time take off and landing and decent food, I was mighty impressed. At a price 20-30% less than Jet Airways, I get a service which is better than Jet.

How I wish many other people had the same business sense and insight as Vijay Mallya. Sigh!!

Note:
I am told SpiceJet is good among low cost options

Folks, I’m back!!

For those of you who are wondering what the hell I was doing in Mumbai, I went to attend a training–cum-workshop on Human Computer Interaction Design from Industrial Design Center, IIT Bombay. This entire trip was hanging in the air till the last moment. The course was a 9-day program. Those 9 days should easily go down as one of the most interesting days of my life.

I have to mention one thing here. whenever one mentions the word ‘Design’ many people immediately think about some exotic, romantic, artistic act or output the end results of which are beyond the reach of common man. Or its invariably Multimedia Flash animations which strike their mind. I’ve seen this even with well educated ‘techie type’ people. For them only the BE,MCA,MBA matter. Nothing else comes under the purview of ‘profession’ or ‘occupation’. I have one word of advice for those folks, just flip through Donald Norman’s THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS. Or atleast have a close look at its cover design to understand the meaning of usability.

So what am I going to write??

When I made the goa trip, I had so much to say. I thought I would write it later but that never happened. But I don’t want to miss out this time. I am keen to document my observations about this trip somewhere. As much as I would like to write a lengthy post, I also realize its been sometime since I managed like 6 hours sleep. So going to sleep for now…

So more to come on the future of interaction designers, King Fisher Airlines and their superb service, IIT campus in Powai, Professor Joshi, The origin of software design patterns, Mumbai - Pune expressway, rendezvous with Vada Pav and not to mention the Pagal Kollai in Kottampatti by greedy highway motels and their nexus between bus drivers in Tamil Nadu.

Stay tuned…