Mars Chale!

“Towards the end of the century, Indians may participate in the planetary civilization that may result in many resourceful Indians inhabitating Mars and entering the space industrial establishment on Moon”.

Thank you Mr. Prez. Your vision for the future is much more grandeur than majority of the citizens of this country. To quote the great Dr. Sarabhai himself “There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society.” Besides designing missiles and being part of the space club, how much of this scientific relevance can be applied to solve the real problems faced by humanity, especially in a country like us with a vast section still deprived of the basic amenities to lead a normal life - take for instance the weather forecasting.

Weather patterns have been on the flip-side for our country this year and call it global warming or the curse of the weather gods, extreme weather let its fury wreck havoc and the victims are thousands of innocent lives plus the material loss, throwing normal life out of gear. Tsunami in the southern part of the country, cloudburst at the city of Mumbai, flash floods at Bangalore and the interminable trail of cyclones that ravaged the state of Tamil Nadu, extreme cold temperatures in the northen part of this country. Seldom did I realize that there is a naming sequence for the cyclones that hit this part of the planet and Baaz, Mala and Fanooz became household names for people who had wondered with awe at the western nations naming their hurricanes Katrina and Rita and had thought of it as capitalistic phenomena foreign to developing nations like us.

I have always had this admiration of the western nations, especially the way in which technology and scientific pursuit had had an influence on their daily life. Weathermen and their detailed forecasts had always been my fascination in the US for I am only used to see female bimbos with their queer smiles reciting the temperatures measurements. This is weather forecasting for majority of the citizens of this country and the only imagery is the tiny map of India from one of the INSAT satellite that we get to see either in couple of national TV channels and few dailies the next day. This is status quo for the past decade or so, while the budgetary allocation of millions of taxpayer money to the department of space and other scientific establishments has only gone up. Not to undermine the count of unquestionable national pride - be it the design of various INSAT range of satellites, our own launch vehicles and the imageries captured by our remote sensing satellites are claimed to be one of the best in the world. Now there is the grandeur vision of building a Chandrayan and our scientific pursuit is all set to go extra-terrestrial. No one can catechize the feats of the ISRO since its inception in 1960s to where we are now with pride. Shouldn’t the next phase be lending more humane touch to our quest and to solve problems that are more native to us?

Weather satellites above us that can watch every inch of this country day-in and day-out or build doppler radar systems that can track any storm and give sufficient time for our citizens to take refuge or a Tsunami Warning System? Streaming animation of these imageries on the information super highway or a dedicated TV channel, and a climateologist educating the masses at time of crisis instead of the ill-informed neophytes creating panic. In Mumbai for instance, had we known the ensuing cloudburst atleast 3 hours in advance it wouldn't have left thousands of people left stranded on the streets for more than two days. Take the case of Tsunami, every news channel was talking about some unusual turbulence in the sea atlesat 6 hours before the real tragedy struck. How many graduates in this country pass-out in meteorological science program and perhaps end-up in an irrelevant IT job? Why not provide this technology to the lesser affluent nations of this region and affirm our super-power status.

Nonetheless, indubitable are our migratory traits - there would be an Indian designing chips, churning-out thousands of lines of code and fixing arterial holes of Martians, some deftly answering in a fake Martian accent, an Indian grocery shop selling from bournvita to betalnuts and a definite Taj restaurant to serve the delectable Indian delights to the outer planets!

Small is Beautiful!

Christmas time – festivities galore, tranquil weather made the lazy soul in me stay indoors and spend the day playing with my 2.5 yr old son. We decided to build a house with the colorful blocks he got. The model picture had a very nice assembly of a house, swimming pool, play yard, etc. I followed my limited creative instincts and started putting those colorful pieces together and seldomdid i anticipate it to be this tricky. After a full two hours of arduous work, I just managed to put the doors, windows in some place and created a structure! I had no clue on the utility of the various pieces and I just managed to put them together. 'Appa, this doesn’t look like a house!' came the voice and he just squashed those pieces to their ruins. I wouldn’t blame him. I should confess – I did a pathetic job with those blocks.

I guess, I am not alone when it comes to venturing into things that are not in our forte and striving to complete it with lesser concern for the end product. This is the state de affaire of the MRTS project happening for quite some years now in Chennai. What was started off with a grand ambition to alleviate the traffic problems of the city, took its own time to come off the drawing board – not different from any of the state initiated projects. Lesser surprise, media frenzy abuzz, I still remember the days when this project stole the cover pages of every syndicate – ‘Chennayil Parakkum Rayil’ (Flying Train for Chennai). At least the nerve line – the rail tracks on an elevated structure was completed two years back and there is a train running back and forth now and even with very little public buy-in the project continues these days. Except the peak office hours, the toy-like- train runs near empty. Defying the basic logic is the number of cars – three during crowded peak hours and six when the driver is on his own in the afternoon time!

The funniest of all are the train stations themselves; before the train could accelerate and pick-up some speed you would see it come to a screeching halt. And each one of these stations are mammoth concrete structures with elevators, escalators and the grandeur plans for all amenities - to handle the small crowd of people who patronize this. Did someone say private enterprise bring-in efficiencies which the public sector very badly lacks? Looks like someone gave these construction companies tons of steel and cement and asked them ‘Just do whatever you want and keep building something and just don’t stop’. More like the ideology behind some of the public sector firms that Nehru had created with a vision of producing something besides the fundamental premise to ‘create jobs for the masses’. Everyday, I keep staring at the edifice, which is right across the road from my 10th floor office in Tidel Park. Absolutely no structure, no reasoning and no need and their basic premise: Construct, Break and Construct even more! Within a stretch of 2 Kms you would find 3 stations and each one can only beat each other in size. After years of work, the laws of linear progression will only let you believe that the things would culminate soon towards the end result. But, sorry folks! Not here; while people are busy building some portion of the station, few few other portions have become a dungeon and you can see brand new elevators and Kone escalators lying amidst concrete rubble. Whose money is going down the drains and I would be more than glad to meet the architect who designed these ‘marvels’!

What do we have after years of draining effort and material, the basement parking lots were all flooded during the recent cyclone, a very porous roof in most of the places, the stations are located in desolate places that you have to be a film hero to venture into these stations after dark and most of the stations are encroachments rife. The other day after watching on TV the crowded local schools, which were used as temporary shelter for the flood battered chennai civic, I was wondering what would it take to convert these mammoth structures into community kitchens during a time of crisis. But my friend shot it down straightaway saying most of the structure is leaking and the stench from the local Cooum river over which these stations are built would only drive away anyone miles. So, there you go …

But, if not for the pathetic condition of the project, the MRTS could have been a boon to alleviate the traffic ordeal had they linked up the southern end with the existing suburban line near St. Thomas Mount and provide connectivity with the local bus network. That would have provided an excellent coverage of the city along its periphery. A ride from Thiruvanmiyur to Triplicane for six rupees and in 10 minutes! Dream on via roads or with the notorious auto drivers of Chennai. For god’s sake stop building these structures called ‘stations’ for the mammoth enclosure only adds to the shoddiness of the place. All we need is a shelter and since it is in an elevated plane – stairs to climb, a ticket booth (why not vending machines!) and a reasonable parking space.

It'll be a great place if they only finish it! - O Henry

Here we go again ...

Another Sourav - Dungarpur tango, denials by the mainstay, angry Kolkata fans and to top it all - the delightful fiesta served to the media.

"... he is the worst fielder in the side. He cannot be a role model of a captain."

The most ludicrous of all was the somersault served by Mr. RD himself to the same media to disown whatever he had said with the finesse of a master acrobat!

"Sourav is a tremendous batsman and his off-side play is simply great. His vast experience should help the Indian team in the series against Pakistan. "

Duh!

Honestly, the dimwits here are the fans like you and me who just can't take anymore of these idiosyncrasies of a board official. At least for the sake of Cricket and to its ardent fans, let the media serve a moratorium not to rekindle this Sourav Charade anymore. Enough is enough and let the game decide whether he merits a place in the team or not.

Whether Sourav is the "laziest captain ever" as revealed by Mr. RD or "one of most experienced player" who deserved to be picked on the side, he is in the team and all we care about now is some good cricket that is in store for true cricket lovers - between two sides that are raring to go.

Let us play some Cricket!

Monsters' Inc !

Feeling dizzy after driving my way back home for nearly an hour in the midst of those monstrous vehicles that swarm the roads of Chennai, especially the IT corridors. My Zen is really out-dwarfed by those goliath vehicles and at times on the busy roads I just keep budging away till I realize that I am inches away from climbing over the curbs or the pathways. It sure is the survival of the fittest or the fattest rather, on the crowded roads of Chennai! Sometimes when I honk and try to take a peek upwards, I can see few faces giggling at me and my diminutive vehicle. Yes, by monster I refer to the buses – most of them are discards from the various travel companies - that are engaged by the IT service companies these days to help their fellow wards reach their abode safely and of course to bring them back promptly to their den at work the next morning.

With every IT company going for their own sprawling campuses at the outskirts of the city, commuting is a big deal and it is a highly appreciated perk for most of the associates who sans that have to live with the teeming roads and regular traffic snarls. But, do we really need such behemoth vehicles? Does the workforce need spanky sleeper coaches to come to work - I have even seen few dozing off during the commute. The people who drive those monsters with utter disregard for every traffic light or zooming their way around in the traffic maze only to the utter dismay of the fellow commuters. 'Celebrating Work' - at what cost? Anyone can venture on their way only to their own peril and the only match for them might be the notorious water tankers that ply the chennai roads in summer. Thanks to the monsoon, even they are off the roads these days and contributing their portion to the margin of safety to commuters like me. Quite recently one of my fellow coworker was fatally knocked down while riding a two-wheeler. It was a case of hit-and-run and the incident had its own silent demise. There were unconfirmed reports that it was by one of the monsters from a reputed IT house. If it had any reason to be true; there would be very few surprises.

Can these monsters be claimed to undermine the firm's corporate social responsibility values? Why not? A firm's CSR strategy goes beyond paying the regular taxes and contributing to some charities. It should be based on sound ethics and core values which firm deeply believes in. If a NRNM and a Premji are looked upon as icons not just in the corporate world, but across the nation, the next step for them is towards fulfilling their societal obligations. Their stature in the society provides them the opportunity to deliver this. Of course there are numerous limitations and constraints in the system and both of them have gone at lengths to talk about it. NRNM's recent outburst against the nations' politico elite was not taken lightly. But, even in the chaotic traffic, if there is one vehicle that does not skip any Red lights, that employs drivers who seldom indulge in any road rage it should be theirs. They should stand out just like the corporate entities themselves. The business is not totally divorced from the rest of the society and with responsible behavior the corporate's role in building an ethical and social environment is highly appreciated by the society. 'Applying Thoughts' - can it be applied here ?

Why can’t the M&Ms and Leylands and Tatas design vehicles that suit our limited infrastructure? Doesn't this qualify to be in the automobile giant's CSR strategy? Why can’t an Infosys or TCS or Wipro procure such vehicles or train their drivers to be the road samaritans? Why not vehicles that run on LNG, why do we wait for a government legislation to impose such controls, instead show the way. How difficult would this be for the NRNMs and the Premjis? Outside stakeholders are increasingly aware of the activities of any company in terms of its impact to the environment and on local communities. Imagine how the firms can leverage out the traffic friendly vehicles they run within the society. Acting in a socially responsible manner does not necessarily quantify as an ethical duty of the company, but something that has a significant bottom-line pay off!

Uncommon Sense?

In the aftermath of the terror attacks at IISc Bangalore everyone from our own politicians to civic administrators to technology brand ambassadors to the all pervasive media is talking about the ominous threat looming at our famed institutions and some of the economic hubs of our nation. While it is with a glaring anguish that one looks at the way the ugly menace is spreading its tentacles to the relatively peaceful southern part of this country, few can disagree that we can take this as any comforting factor and it is only a matter of time for the terror outfits to strike where it hurts the most.

The day after the terror attack at IISc Bangalore, there were numerous news articles about how the security arrangements at various other institutions and potential vulnerable sites have been beefed up. The Hindu even carried out a news article in its front page with a picture of a security man guarding the Tidel Park – the citadel of the IT folks in Chennai. Few of us who work at the Tidel Park and who had to go through the so called 'increased security' the next few days, could not but laugh at the sight of a solitary guard standing in front of the mammoth concrete structure with a heavy wooden rifle and I think it can fire at the most 6 bullets before a refill! Can you figure out what I am talking about? A single archaic rifle and couple of cops sleeping in a police patrol vehicle parked outside the premises, to protect the tons of concrete and the hundreds of technologists housed in that structure! Vow, that is very comforting to feel safe under the 'increased security'. Did someone say the miscreants used a AK47 or a AK56? Where do we think the poor security guard posted under 'increased security' stand, god forbid a similar strike happening at the Tidel Park? Does anyone still remember the scenes the television channels beamed across our nation when few fidayeen strikes happened at our Parliament house in broad daylight? All our poor security guards fighting with those manual antediluvian guns hiding behind the trees and pillars and still fighting against people who happen to possess the most modern weaponry. Similar scenes in the fidayeen strikes that happened in the picturesque Aksharadam temple couple of years back.

A recent episode in CNBC's Uncovered showed how anyone can freely walk around the campuses of IIT Mumbai and how a locker full of keys was left ajar for anyone to play some pranks. Though it is argued that working under the perceived security threats might hamper the freedom of thought and is against the fundamentals of scientific pursuit, getting elevated to the status of Oxford-Harvard would also mean accepting things on their face-value and not defying the plain simple logic of taking preventive measures. If not converting these institutions into an armed fortress, at least let us not make the existing security or the 'tightened' version of it a mockery of sorts.

Who do we blame for this ineptness? By the way, how much of our hard earned tax-payers money and the GDP goes towards procuring loads of arms to protect our country? With how much pride do we talk about the success of the various missiles that get built in-house or the most modern aircrafts where the government gets to spend billions of dollars? All towards protecting, either a non-existant or a not-yet-struck threat. While no one can question the wisdom to have the most modern armed forces to protect the nation, what about the real threat that lies in our backyard or rather that knocked at our door – yesterday? What would it take to dress-up our humble security men who stand to protect us day and night, with the gadgets they need the most? All we get to see security men with modern weapons is when they run behind our netas or their cavalry!

The other day I was watching on TV when our politicians observed the anniversary of the terror attacks at the parliament and throwing away the regular promises to the kin of the deceased. Majority of which never materialized – that is a different story. If at all any promise or one single deed that can make a big difference to the men guarding these institutions is to provide them with the best equipments to do their job – to fight fire with fire. After all they are putting their life in line first to save ours.

It sounds too common sense – or is it just me who doesn't get it!