Sonch is the exact Hindi translation of the word "Thought". I was struggling to find a heading for my blog. I settled for "Sonch" because that's precisely what I intend to use this blog for - Write my thoughts about random topics that interests me. It's my personal experience that most of the times the solution to an issue or a problem lies in going back to the basics and by objectively reviewing the purpose of your action.
I was driving home a couple of days back when I saw a fire truck on the adjacent lane with an American Flag pinned at the back of the truck with words like “Remembering the fallen friends on Sep 11”. That spurred me to write this post.
To me the biggest legacy that is left behind of that horrific attack is labeling the entire Muslim population as terrorist. The relationship between the western world and the followers of Islam completely changed after that day. While it is more than just a coincidence that the perpetrators of most of the violent and barbaric terrorist attack has been Muslims; yet to label the entire Muslims of the world as terrorist is not rational or logical either.
Recently, I watched on CNN, the Pastor in one of the church in US has publicly called for burning Quoran on the anniversary of that tragedy. Nothing can be more insidious than this. One of the foundations of American society is separation of Church and politics and religious tolerance. To me the pastor is as much an extremist as any other extremist in Islam. However, while burning the Quoran is mere symbolic, the amount of attention that this has generated worldwide is amazing. Even the President of US, Barack Obama has pitched in asking the Pastor to refrain doing this lest there would be more damage to the American interest world wide.
The arguments for and against building a mosque near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan seems to have become a national and international pass time. While the American constitution gives the liberty to practice any religion, the bigger question that the common man in general is asking is whether it is wise to construct a mosque near ground Zero. While the Americans who lost their loved ones and still have not found their body for the proper burial, the sentiments run extremely high and rightfully so. For others who may not have lost any near and dear ones, the logic of building a mosque near Ground Zero does not make sense because many Americans equate Muslims with terrorist and cannot take a broader view of Muslims and Islam. For very few people, the question is generating thoughts like “why not allow the Muslims to build a mosque near Ground Zero?”. After all doesn’t the American constitution allows practice of religion? However, as Obama has nicely summed up saying “while the American constitution guarantees the right of practicing one’s own religion and hence mosque can be build near Ground Zero but the common sense and wisdom says that it might end up hurting the sentiments of majority of Americans. And don’t we agree that in democracy the majority has the final say irrespective of the logic and reasoning?
This also brings to the forefront the role of media in fanning such debates that in turn generates more viewership. The entire world has shrunk in the last 20 years in terms of dissemination of news. Within a couple of hours of some events taking place, people from Bangalore to Beijing and New Delhi to New York starts getting the news and start forming their own opinion. With such rapid global dissemination of information, it is the responsibility of the media to rein in such news and debates that does not add value to any one of us except reigniting the painful memories. Instead of healing, such reckless transmission of news and information ends in hurting.
The true legacy of Sep 11 would be to punish the people responsible for the heinous act, bring closure for the families of those who died and understand the difference between Moderates and Extremist in all religion be it, Jews, Christian, Hindu or Islam. Burning religious books or building places of worships that can trigger violence is another example of how we have yet to realize the true potential of homo sapiens.
I urge my readers to let me know what they think of the legacy of Sep11 2001
Axis bank is one of the fastest growing banks in India. Growth should always be accompanied with the responsibilities to make banking safer and easier for its customers. I have accounts with Axis Bank in India and I really regret having one now. Both my accounts were hacked between April 14th to April 20th 2010 on June 20th. When I tried logging in my account during the end of April, oblivious of the fact that the money has already been illegally taken out, I could not log in because the password was no longer valid.
When I tried to complain about the locked account; it took almost 2 months for Axis bank to get me a new password – this clearly demonstrates that not only Axis Bank was aware that its system was hacked but it also failed in its duties to let the legal account owner made aware of the hack.
I want Axis Bank to make my loss whole i.e. give my money back immediately, a sum total of Rs. 1,71,1000 ASAP while the bank can conduct the enquiry it wants. To all my readers, pls. read the chain of events and decide for yourself how pathetic is the customer service of one of the fastest growing bank in India.
Feb 22nd 2011: I received an acknowlodgement letter from Mr. Gopalakrishnan, AGM in RBI acknowledging the receipt of my letter for appeal against the decision of Ombudsman. While the letter is dated Jan 20th, it took the letter more than a month to reach me. Hope RBI can also utilize email for a faster communication but it's better late than never. Now that I have an acknowledgement, I am sure some action will follow. I will wait for a couple of weeks more before I send a reminder to RBI again. You can read the acknowledgement letter from RBI below:
Jan 12th to Feb 20th 2011: Waiting patiently to hear back from RBI, India. A couple of my friends suggested that I call them and request for information but I am sure the system in India works, it's just a little slow to feel comfortable.
Jan 11th 2011: After doing some research on the internet as to who could be the Apellate authority for the banking ombudsman order, I found that Dy Governor of RBI has been vested this power. I have made a point by point rebuttal of the points raised by Axis Bank and prayed to the Dy. Governor to provide me justice and ask Axis Bank to make my loss whole. You can read below point by point rebuttal of the comments made by Axis Bank to Banking Ombudsman and can decide for yourself how Axis Bank is trying to hide behind technicalities and playing all the tricks up their sleeve to present a one sided version of what actually happened.
I am just worried that I don't have the legal knowledge and might get confused and frustrated with the jargons. But I have promised to myself that I will seek every opportunity to fight this injustice with Axis Bank. Shame on you Axis Bank
Jan 10th 2011: Got a response from the Banking Ombudsman office (see the letter below) that he has closed the case. Banking Ombudsman Letter Closing the Complaint So frustrating and disappointing. He attached a letter from Axis Bank ( read below )based on which the case was closed. Obviously, Axis Bank gave a very twisted and generic response to the Banking Ombudsman original letter. I am really surprised that Banking Ombudsman can close the case without even giving me a chance to present my arguement against the points raised by Axis Bank. However, I am quite grateful to the office of Chief General Manager, Customer Service that helped me to get the Banking Ombudsman order in the first place otherwise, I would have assumed that my case is till pending with the Banking Ombudsman. In this age of facebook and Twitter, I am getting the order after 4 months. Somethings must change for the sake of justice.
Jan 7th 2011: I have requested the office of BO Patna to send me a copy of their judgement. This is my third request to them. I have also written back to the office of Chief General Manager to help me get a copy of the judgement. This will atleast help me to find out what options I have now in case I have been denied justice by the Banking Ombudsman. I am eagerly waiting to see the order.
Jan 6th 2011: Against all odds, I got a response today from the office of Chief General Manager, Customer Service of RBI. It says that they cannot do anything as the Banking Ombudsman have passed the judgement on Sept 24 2010 and it not appealable in the banking system anymore. The letter suggested me to explore other means to recover my money. My question is when I am the victim of this elaborate fraud from Axis Bank then why the judgement of the Banking Ombudsman was not sent to me. How is any NRI expected to know such judgement if he/she is not sent any electronic copy?
Dec 26th 2010 : Sent the entire complaint to the office of Chief General Manager, Customer Service Department in RBI at Mumbai. Hope someone there picks up my complaint and bring a clousre for me. I am extremely frustrated at the lack of speed and urgency on part of RBI to resolve my case. If I don't get any response by Jan 3rd, I will send my compaint to Shri Kaza Sudhakar, CGM and Shri KC Chakrabarty, Dy Governor as suggested in one of the comments posted on my blog.
Dec 1st to Dec 25th: Not yet...sadly no response from the Banking Ombudsman office even after sending one more reminder. Does it need to take this much time to find out the facts and dispense justice? Why the people in power can't see the suffering and plea for a quick disposal of this case? Looks like me being stranded here in US is making it difficult for justice to be delivered to me in India. Read a comment from someone in my blog post to send the complaint to Chief General Manager and Deputy Governor in RBI in Mumbai that I will do now. Thank you for YenYen for showing some more direction to pursue this case.
Nov1st to Nov 30th: Sent a reminder to Banking Ombudsman but have not got any response yet. It is more than 4 months and I have not seen response yet from the Banking Ombudsman office. Does it take so much time to find out the details and provide justice?
September 16th till Oct 31st: Waiting for some response from the Banking Ombudsman office in reserve Bank of India in Patna where I have filed my complaint. Can anyone help me out so that I get my money back?
September 15th: Sent a reminder to the Banking Ombudsman in RBI, Patna.
August 6th till September 14th: Waiting for some update from the Banking Ombudsman office. Meanwhile, is there anything else that someone can suggest I do?
August 5th: I can't believe that the system works and works beautifully. I saw an email from the Ombusdman office. I received a letter (you can read the original letter below) that asked for information from Axis Bank and giving them time till Aug 14th to respond. Perfect! This has re-energized my effort to fight this out with Axis Bank. It's unbelievable but true that there is a system that can really ask some questions to the bank and they have to respond. My 2 cents - Never give up your right to fight even if your opponent is a considerable heavy weight like Axis Bank in this case. Banking Ombudsman First Note to Axis Bank Asking for Information
July 27th to August 4th : Waiting for the Banking Ombudsman response to my complaint. Not yet sure if the online system was reliable enough for the complaint to reach the right person.However, I am listing the online Reserve Bank of India Banking Ombudsman complaint system web address for other's ready reference in such cases of gross negligience of banks in India.
July 26th : Lodged the complaint with Banking Ombudsman with Reserve Bank of India, Patna Branch through its online complaint system. It has been more than 30 days since I filed my complaint with the Axis Bank and I completely reject the bogus and stupid defense of Axis Bank in making my loss whole. Not only I would like to fight for my own money, I would also like the Axis Bank to change its internal circular that prohibits bank from reimbursing the legitimate customer for such kind of fraud. It is also quite interesting to read a comment from someone called “Manoj” who clearly writes on my blog about such incidents happening in Axis Bank and he himself has lost Rs. 1.6 lakhs. Manoj comments clearly points finger to Axis Bank internal controls.
July 13th to July 25th : I did receive a letter from Axis Bank, Ranchi Branch Head (see below) putting the blame squarely on my head suggesting that I might have shared the id and password to some one else resulting in this unauthorized transactions. I really pity the stand taken by the bank. Even a high school student will come up with a better defense than this.
While I understand the predicament of the bank in acknowledging its flaws, security hole and most likely the organized hacking going on within the bank itself, it is foolish for the bank to take cover of its legal responsibilities with such ill advised response. I am sure the Axis Bank, Ranchi Branch Head – Mr. Kumar Manish is a sensible person but looks like his hands are tied by bank’s illegal internal circular. However, in the spirit of co-operation, I appeal to Axis Bank to find out the credentials of the persons who have taken the money out of my account and file police complaints against them. It is very easy for the bank to trace the people who took my money. Either they are genuine accounts in which case, Axis Bank can immediately file police complaints against them or they are bogus persons that points to bank complicity in this fraud.
July 7th to July 12th : can you believe? My response to CEO of Axis Bank has also been met with strong silence. What a way to respond to customer complaints? While this might be Axis Bank stand of keeping quiet to my complaints, I cannot be as passive like the Bank. Probably the next step is to go to Banking Ombudsman. Looks like the bank won't budge unless forced to do so by some regulatory authorities. What a shame...Never thought I was banking with such a heartless bank.
July 6th : Sent a complaint to CEO of Axis Bank, Mrs. Sikha Sharma with the hope that this issue will now get resolved. Let's see if this helps.
July 3rd to July 5th : Still no response. However, no response will not absolve bank of its responsibilities. This also shows the character or the lack of charcter of the bank. I plan now to write directly to the CEO of the Axis Bank and see if I can get a resolution. How come these banks with such horrible service can ever think of competing globally where the minimum norm in such cases is to first credit the account for the loss and then do an enquiry?
July 2nd : Sent a complaint letter to Consul General of India in San Francisco (read below)and requested that action be taken to make my loss whole.
June 29th to July 1st : No response yet from the bank. Very frustrating. Happened to speak to Susanta Behara of Ranchi Branch while he was on vacation. He promised that he will look into the matter but still no response from the bank yet. Looks like Axis Bank is dragging its feet in owning up it's responsibility. However, no response even more than a week later is just poor customer service. Thumbs down to Axis Bank.
June 28th : Sent another letter to IBRM, NRI Cell, Ranchi Branch Head, Arup Dutta and others in Axis Bank giving details of fraud.
June 27th : Tried to look for an email ID for the CEO and other senior functionaries of the bank but nowhere on the website there is any listing of the Bank CEO. Can’t believe that Axis bank doesn’t provide the contact information of its management team including the CEO. Even a mom and pop shop now a days has better information available on their web site. Axis Bank web site sucks.
June 24th to June 26th : No response to my email. I am waiting for the bank to respond to my email complaint. In this era of facebook and Twitter, it seems like ages to wait for 3 days. Anyways, trying to keep my patience and frustration under control in anticipation of Axis Bank returning my money.
June 23rd : Came to know that the money was illegally taken out of my account by hacking into Axis Bank online banking system. I called Susanta Behra in Axis Bank branch in Ranchi, India where my account was opened. He advised to call the Mumbai office and talk to one person called Ashish. Called Ashish the same night and explained him what happened. He seems to be a nice guy and shared some details about the hackers and told me that the bank will get back to me for the next steps.
Too little, too late! This is what most Bhopal gas victims would say to the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) of Bhopal - the 12th CJM to hear a case which was brought to the level of a mere fatal road accident - who delivered an order which can at best give the accused 2 years. After 26 years the trial court in India has given the verdict – 2 year jail terms to eight accused. This verdict has done nothing but made a mockery of justice in a case that is the world’s biggest man made industrial disaster ever that killed more than 15000 people and maimed thousands more both physically and mentally. Just hearing in the media the fact that the Chairman of the then Union Carbide, Warren Anderson was arrested immediately after the disaster and then released on the behest of someone in the Govt and allow to go back to USA makes you feel sick in the gut. Tune in to the recent BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico around a month and a half back and then you can contrast the way New Delhi and Washington works in putting the responsible party’s feet to the fire for the disaster. Think of these two contrast; on the one hand – New Delhi facilitated the escape of Warren Anderson, the chairman of Union Carbide and on the other hand, Washington is gunning for the throat of BP and its CEO, Tony Hayward, for the oil disaster (for the 11 people killed on the rig and the environmental damage) who is based out of UK.
Shame on the politicians of India to help the escape of Warren Anderson, the merchant of Death for thousands of poor inhabitants of Bhopal and a bigger shame on the Indian bureaucracy to allow implementation of such reprehensible political order. Wish someone in the chain of command should have the spine to revolt and refuse to release Warren Anderson. This entire thing including the verdict on the case coming after 26 years has indeed made the proverb “justice delayed is justice denied” completely true; except in this case, the justice delivered is laughable compared to the crime committed. Even the experts in US are scratching their head for this 2 year jail sentence awarded to the accused
I am relatively sure that if members of political class or the neo-rich would have died in this accident, Warren Anderson would have still been cooling his heel in the Indian jail rather than currently sitting behind the protection of his company in US and American laws. Who cares for the poors who dies - there is plenty of supply of this class in India. Though the mind doesn’t agree but the fact is so chilling to ignore – has this been a class war, obviously going against the poor who succumbed in this man made disaster.
US Govt does not work to ensure justice for the Indian victim. White House protects American business, and American interest in international relations, whether in war or peace. When 11 American workers were killed in an oil rig (owned by a British company) blow-up in the Gulf of Mexico and some millions of oil gushing into the ocean, Washington is demanding from BP to set up an escrow account with possibly billions of dollars. Nearly 15,000 dead in Bhopal, half a million affected, and the total compensation is $470 million. Do the math. US Govt. has promised to penalize BP for the current oil spill to the extent of billions of dollars that might send the company into bankruptcy. The Indian trial court magistrate Manoj Tiwari wants only Rs 5 lakh as penalty from Union Carbide for mass slaughter.
When Exxon was fined $5 billion for the Alaska oil spill, nearly $40,000 was spent on the rehabilitation of every affected sea otter. The victims of Bhopal are, so far, entitled to $200 each.
Aadhaar, the name given to the Unique Identifier project in India, has winner written on it all over it right from the choice of Nanadan Nilekani to lead this initiative. India gave the concept of Zero to the world and that revolutionalized the understanding of Mathematics.
Now, India is again on the brink of giving a number to its entire population that will revolutionize the way benefits have traditionally been handed over to the masses in need. The role that Aadhaar envisions is to issue a unique identification number (UID) that can be verified and authenticated in an online, cost-effective manner, and that is robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities. Consider this number to be equivalent to US Social Security Number that identifies each and every citizen and is utilized to pay the benefits whenever required, except the fact that Aaadhar will be much more technological advanced in identifying any individual (a crying need in India)
According to a Govt study, India is going to have 800 million people in its workforce by 2020. In order to ensure that they are a source of valuable human capital, India must connect them effectively to the services they need in health, education and employment. The reach and impact of the Aadhaar has the potential to transcend traditional approach to identity verification in India. The identity infrastructure in India today is a patchwork of multiple documents that are used as proofs of identity and which include voter cards, PAN, and driving licenses. One unique number has the potential to change forever, how poorest of the poor can be empowered to benefits provided by the State.
The number to be given under Aadhaar will be a 16 digit number out of which the last 4 will be hidden or will not be required for any normal identification process. These 4 hidden numbers will be used in offline verification against the central database in case of problems with fake identities. An iris scan will be used along with fingerprints for collecting biometric data of citizens. About 10 fingerprints, a photo, and iris scan will be collected as part of biometric data per person
Aadhaar will offer significant advantages for children. Child-related programs in India have relied on often inaccurate, aggregate data at school/village /block/district levels, making these programs inherently ineffective. The concept of Universal Child Tracking – the ability to track every child and ensure their all-around development – is gaining ground. An accurate database of children with UID would be immensely beneficial to programs linked to eliminate child labor. Similarly, a massive outreach program to reach out to disadvantaged women and get them a unique number can subsequently be used as a unique handle for a variety of services to be rendered to these women.
Government statistics estimates that India has over 60 million disabled people, and identity for this population is a massive challenge. It is difficult to enforce the law, In spite of a clear law about a certain percentage of employment for the disabled due to lack of clear identification of such individuals. A lot of organizations working for the disabled population will promote the UID, and enable residents with disabilities to register for a range of benefits. India has a significant tribal population of approximately 90 million tribals, mostly concentrated along a few states. The Government has many programs for the notified tribes, and the UID can ensure that help reaches the intended tribals.
In India, unlike in the West, there is no ritual to assign a name to the newly born immediately. These later results in very costly procedure of identifying individuals. Aadhaar can force things like this to change and have the parents assign a name immediately after a child is born so that a unique number can be allocated and inserted into the birth certificate itself. Since the birth certificate is the original identity document, it is likely that this number will then persist as the key identifier through the individual's various life events, such as joining school, immunizations, voting etc. Since the name is a mandatory field in the Aadhaar database, it is essential that the child be given a name before applying for the Aadhaar number.
There are clearly immense benefits from a mechanism that uniquely identifies a person, and ensures instant identity verification. The need to prove identity only once will bring down transaction costs for the poor. A clear identity number would also transform the delivery of social welfare programs by making them more inclusive of communities that are now cut off from such benefits due to their lack of identification. It would enable the government to shift from indirect to direct benefits, and help verify whether the intended beneficiaries actually receive funds/subsidies. A single, universal identity number will also be transformational in eliminating fraud and duplicate identities, since individuals will no longer be able to represent themselves differently to different agencies.
I personally see no reason why this simple number will not transform India to take care of its citizens the way help reaches to the citizens in the western world. This number will help India to further catapult itself out of the tentacles of poverty and ignorance. I invite my readers to think about the application of this unique number that will help transform India into a more egalitarian society.
Just a few months back, when Naresh connected the entire 1990 batch through a simple process – I realized what I was missing all along. I am sure each one of us has over a period of time has developed big professional network but the eagerness with which I read each and every email posted through Naresh’s Google digest has often surprised me as well.
It is quite clear to me that I relate myself better to the network of our college friends than the professional network that I have since developed. I feel excited to receive emails from each one in our batch, feel content after picking up the phone and talking to them and look forward very eagerly to speak and meet with everyone at the next opportunity. Even banter between Pranav and Sanjay over the email was quite enjoying (sorry no pun intended!)
And then all of a sudden one afternoon read a very cryptic message from Naresh about BMT and then got to know from others that he was no more. It's extremely hard to believe that some one amongst us can die in our 40's, whatever the cause may be apart from accidents. In the hum drum of life we sometimes tend to forget how deep and caring relationship we have all developed amongst each other – whether we were close to each other in Sindri does not matter any more. It was a wake up call for me as well as I never cared to think about life after I am gone; what happens to my dependants. After giving up my job in SAIL, I have been in IT industry which is famous for sucking the blood out of you (of course in the short run they pay you well) and then trash you out when you are no longer useful to them. Whatever may be the reason for BMT’s demise at least I am happy that he died while working for a public sector unit in India which will take care of his immediate family members reasonably well to lead a meaningful and respectful life.
While we are extending our hands to support BMT’s family, some of us also thought about how to harness this network’s strength to the advantage of all the members of this group. I am proposing to create a BITS90 foundation and let that foundation help us in need including the financial need that we are talking to help BMT’s family. Please read some elementary thoughts on the role of foundation and how can it be sustained.
Some of you may not agree with this thought and that’s ok. We can all agree to disagree. However, I am sure all of us agree to do something to create a structure that supports us in time of need. Personally I would like to see that this important step that Naresh has cared to create becomes stronger, has the ability to outlive all of us and keep helping our posterities. This will also be a nice tribute to BMT, in addition to whatever little we all are trying to do for his family.
Why this Foundation In this digital age, having a strong network is an asset. There are numerous examples where network has been harnessed to achieve some common goals. BITS 90 has the potential to become a strong network of college buddies currently scattered across the globe. Most of BITS90 alumnus is currently into leadership positions across an array of domestic and global companies. It is certain that in the next 15 years many of us will end up leading companies and senior leadership positions
What this Foundation will do 1. Pool incremental resources of its members to provide / create intelligent investment opportunities for long term wealth creation 2. Create group life insurance policies to ensure that in the unfortunate event of demise of any of its members, the policy provide a lum-sum grant of Rs. 50 Lakh (or any other agreed upon amount) to the spouse / immediate dependants of the deceased members 3. Harness the network of its members to bring opportunities to its members and their families in need, especially like BMT's son ongoing education needs.
How this Foundation will survive and grow: I propose a Rs. 500/month to Rs. 1000/month only membership fee that will help the foundation achieve its objective in the long term. I am sure each one of us can contribute this amount for getting great advantage for self and others
Why will this foundation fail : Though this is the last thing in my mind right now it is nonetheless important to recognize the cause of failure. In my opinion the foundation never will see the light of the day or the foundation will fail for two primary reasons: • if we don’t agree on the objective • if we don’t believe in the power of group
Hope this idea becomes the nucleus for the remaining thoughts to come together,be debated, coalesc and grow to a vibrant community that even our childrens be proud of.
There is hardly any place now a days where you don’t hear the echo of global warming messages. Scientist claims that the world is getting hotter and a very delicate balance of the eco-system is getting disturbed leading to catastrophic changes in the climate. It looks like the summer is getting hotter and the winter is getting colder. The 5 hottest year in California happened just in the last decade. Similarly, the last 5 hottest year in Patna happens to be all in the last decade. All this is happening when countries across the globe are trying to reduce carbon footprint. Is this effort coming a little too late? Have we already crossed the tipping point?
As the disposable income in India is rising, and so is the appetite to mimic westernized world to embrace the modern day comforts without thinking what could be the long term effect of such choices. A slight introspection of my own lifestyle when I was growing up shows the sustainable life we were leading in India just 2 decades back that now is getting increasingly forgotten in the hum drum of blindly copying everything American. I am certain there are multiple such simple and common examples that my readers can contribute.
Multi Use Bag / Baskets : I remember having 2 or 3 multi use bags / baskets in my home just till a couple of decades back that would remain is use for years. These bags were either made of clothes or jutes and used to last very long time. These bags used to be washed regularly and were reused for every day’s groceries to any other adhoc purchases. There was hardly any plastic and hence no need to recycle anything. Just imagine for a moment how long will it take for all the households in US to revert back to multi use bags after getting used to the convenience of single use and throw plastic bags. While every county in US is trying to ban the use of plastic bags, we in India were already leading a sustainable life without the need to think of recycling plastic. However, in our effort to catch up to the modern day living we forgot our roots and blindly copied western culture and have since then landed in a soup as we still lack the sophistication and will power of the west to recycle materials.
Regular Blankets : When I was growing up, each year our community would be invariably visited by weavers around fall who were skilled in cleaning raw cotton that used to be stuffed inside the blanket / comforters for providing warmth. These weavers would take all blankets from a household, open the sutures of blanket and take out all the cotton. They used to then beat the cotton with the help of a string (like when you play a guitar and vibrate the strings of guitar). After doing this repeatedly for some time, the bad cotton used to get segregated from the good ones. The loss of bad cotton used to be compensated by adding new cotton that these weavers used to carry with them. Finally, they would put all the cotton inside the blankets, sew it up, change the blanket cover if you so desire and you are ready for the next winter in style. This way of recycling cotton used to save a lot of wastages unlike now when the old blankets/comforters are discarded for a brand new one. Don’t you think that it was a more sustainable way of living than discarding the entire blanket/comforters and contributing to the global warming? If yes, then why we are continuing to move towards one time only use & throw concepts and ruining our future generations with wastes that would be extremely difficult to properly dispose.
Carpets: If you have visited anyone in the United States, you will invariably find wall to wall carpet in most of the homes. Each and every floor of offices/malls in the western world is lined with carpets. If you think for a moment then you will realize that these carpets are energy hugger because of the need of using vacuum cleaner to clean them. However, there is atleast a reason in countries like US to extensively used carpets given very cold temperatures. India, however, is blessed with tropical climate. Then why are we increasingly using the carpets in India? There were hardly any floors in India that were built using carpets when I was growing up. The floors were invariably made of concrete and/or marble.. Carpets were used just for decorative purpose. Have you ever noticed why the western world has very high level of allergies than any where else in the world inspite of such a high standard of living? One of the reason is the carpets that traps lots of pathogens and bacteria that just sits there. It’s a double whammy – on the one hand lots of energy is used to vacuum clean the carpet and on the other hand, we see very high incidence of allergies that needs billions of dollars of medical care every year. I am a little disappointed to see that many urban households in India are similarly moving towards increasing use of carpets when it’s long term use will only increase global warming and increasingly deteriorate the health of the people.
While we can’t unwind the clock and go back in time it is completely within our control to slowly remove products and life style practices that contribute even remotely to unsustainable living.
Today I met, Irfan Alam here in Santa Clara who is credited with revolutionizing the socio-economic life of rickshaw puller’s across India. He was being felicitated by the members of AODB for his contribution towards empowering one of the weakest section of our society.
There are few things that stuck me the most while listening to him
1. He has a brilliant academic record in addition to what he has achieved as an entrepreneur – a rare combination 2. Support from his family during his early years in his beliefs
3. His belief in his own dream - to build the most valuable company of the poor
4. Uncompromising on his goals – even rejected Rs. 150 Lakhs ($300 M USD) offer from Zee TV after he won the reality show called "Business Bazigar"
5. Proud of his roots in Bihar - in a very dignified way and not shy to confront the wrong perception about Biharis
In response to one of the question from the audience regarding the profits that his foundation SammaN earns, Irfan said that his profits are made of the blessings of tens of thousands of people for whom the life is slowly changing for better because of his work. These kinds of words coming out of a 28 years old really gives an idea about his upbringing and values. When the corporate world is worried only about gross margin, IRR, top line and bottom line, having blessings as your company’s profit reiterates that money is only a means to achieve the goal not a goal by itself.
There is no need in India for the development to blindly follow the way the West has gone. Empowering the people will create a massive platform for future growth the way the likes of Irfan are concieveing and creating. Irfan has galvanized the entire rickshaw pullers of India in a business model that not only is helping all the rickshaw pullers stand on their own but more importantly giving this poor section of the society the confidence and self- respect that has the power to change the status quo.
When Tanya and Tanvi went to him to get an autograph, he wrote "Believe in your Dreams". My best wishes to Irfan and SammaN for the yeomen services.
Police in any country is the interface between the government and the citizens. By its very role the police needs to ensure the safety of the citizens and ensure their rights as granted by the constitution of the country. Even a casual encounter by Indian police evokes fear, skepticism, nepotism, corruption and lot worse depending on which part of the country are you in. The accountability standards as compared to westernized world simply don’t exist barring a few major cities. A similar such encounter with a westernized nation police force evokes security, courtesy, reading of your rights, fair and equitable treatment. What is then the reason of this deep chasm in behavior?
The modern day Indian police have its root in the colonial era when Britain occupied India. The oppressive regime that British built with the help of police to silence the citizens in many ways continue even today. The modern day police institutions and policy still sadly reflects lots of colonial practices.
There are a lot of issues that plagues the police notably:
1. The rank and file of Indian Police still have very low level of education. Most of the policemen below the role of Sub-Inspector barely have school degrees 2. Too much interference and abuse by the political system. This is probably the single most contributing factor for the Indian police to be seen the way the citizens see it today 3. The police force is a reflection of the society in general, the gender bias, oppression towards the weaker section of the society, tolerance towards child labor practices and all such heinous crimes that could bring severe punishment in the westernized world goes almost unchecked in India 4. Hardly any accountability to the citizens. 5. Police job pays considerably less than the corresponding jobs in other industries that do not allow the police jobs to be considered as career options by our youths. 95% of the police jobs are taken by youths who have failed to achieve other career objectives 6. Extreme corruption – This is not just an internal police issue but sadly reflects the society in general 7. police density (no. of policeman/1000 citizens) is considerably less than other developed countries) 8. Lack of citizens and police friendly legislations that allows reporting of crime to police without the fear of harassment 9. Lack of judicial reforms resulting in delayed justice putting even more pressure on fragile police systems 10. Lack of community policing that does not allow the citizens to get involved in helping police
I am more than willing to help develop a strategic plan to make Indian police ready for a new India in which the citizens need not fear to interact provided I am given the right authority with no interference from the political system. Will you help me?
Though it’s a little late but I was reading the last Indian Railway (IR) budget presented in February 2010. While the budget did rattle off some operations metrics and few thoughts on generating employment by way of putting some ancillary industries catering to Indian Railways, what was sorely missing was a strategic direction of what will happen 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years hence.
The IR of 2020 will be considerably different from IR of today, however, sadly, our politicians have failed to outline the vision, if not anything else as to how the railways will operate in future. I see in US that when they plan for new tracks and introduce new connectivity they look at 20-30 years in future and in many instances even more than that. That’s how the master plan should look like. The high speed rail corridor between San Francisco and Los Angeles is being worked out keeping the traffic situation in 2035.
Indians are no less capable but lacks the discipline and dedication to commit to a vision. Between urgent and important work, urgent always takes precedence and then we lose sight of long term planning. Railways connect India like no one else does. But, beyond a point the Railways need to move from being a mere basic services provider to being a high tech, passenger focused, industry oriented unit. The India of 2020 is going to be substantially different from the India of today. Are the Railways prepared for that time? Did the Railway Budget of 2010 in any way articulate the vision and lay out the plan for making Indian Railways an organization that will smoothly fit in with the Indian landscape in 2020?
A golden opportunity to play a strategic infrastructure facilitator role via the budget has been lost as its silent on Dedicated Freight corridors as well as Modernization of the exiting Infrastructure. There is no mention on accountability on service standards in this budget as the same would have substantially improved revenues in return
Here are a few things that I consider the IR need to pay attention in case it can hope to become the preferred mode of seeing India, otherwise roads and air traffic will surely dominate a system that is one of a kind in the world in its reach and breadth
1. Dedicated Golden Quadrilateral Freight Corridor that is absolutely separate from the passenger lines 2. High Speed and same day return connection amongst Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities 3. Satellite stations in the far flung areas connecting to the main stations like a hub and spoke model. Minimum one train station for every 50 Kms across the length and breadth of India 4. Best of the class infrastructure like collapsible coaches for passenger comfort 5. Impeccable safety consciousness 6. Improved passenger amenities like the ones available in developed countries including access for disabled 7. Zero security breach tolerance;trains & stations needs to become the safest place in India 8. Green Train to dramatically (as close to zero) reduce carbon footprint 9. All trains and stations to have internet connectivity 10. Help develop the last mile connectivity
Pls. feel free to add to my list to help Indian Railways cater to India 2020 and beyond.
He was from Down Under But never struck like Thunder; Most of us in the family said Madhu, you are doing blunder.
But she was determined like a rock Both of them named their first son Rocky; Soon after came the second one And was called Vicky.
After spending much of his early years In doom and gloom; But with Badi Auntie on the side Life seems to again bloom.
I remember doing my engineering When he first came to see us; I was bowled over By his Caucasian look.
Initially we struggled to connect He doesn’t seem to be like one of us; But beneath the quiet exterior Was a person better than most of us.
Seemed to be genuinely happy In other’s happiness; But heard people failed him In selfish craziness.
Always seemed to me a motorcycle freak A ride was always there for him to sneak; A disciplinarian by heart Loved to work on chart.
I was told he became quiet and Stayed away from people; Did that rattled him to the extent That he so suddenly slipped away?
His memories will ever remain with me How are you Babloo?Is the greeting that I learned from him; May God provide his soul peace And strength to his family.
If there is anything that I can do to help overcome the crisis; Please count me in For the sake of FRANCIS!
Seventeen Years back on this day, We got together in pristine setting; Seven vows and seven promise, My heart still feels we are dating.
Seventeen years back on this day, Your heart jumped with excitement of a new life, but also cried in pain; You wished for your Dad to be with you, But he was not there ever again.
Seventeen years back on this day, here is the deepest secret nobody knows; life was taking a turn, the soul was not ready and the mind was going crazy; you wished for a man, who not only will hold your hand, Firmer than anyone else; but does so with a surreal, charm and grace.
Seventeen years back on this day, I was still thinking about career, The thought of marriage seemed to be In very distant future; Life seemed just too good to be true, With hardly any responsibilities and a decent career. Have always been traditional at heart and a little orthodox And left for my parents to decide for me, To find the girl in my destiny; Gave my parents the carte-blanche for all the dealing, But finally listened to your mothers feeling.
Seventeen years of living with a man, Who hardly goes with a plan; Is not easy to handle, With such grace, poise and élan.
Seventeen years of your life , Keeping personal aspirations aside, You always rooted for the family’s pride. Not sure if any amount of love, share and care Will ever erase the pain of losing your mother, And in quick succession your younger brother.
Seventeen years hence on this day, It is for you to decide; Because there is hardly any thought, That I don’t abide.
Marriage they say is the union of the soul, Even if thoughts are like opposite pole; It’s not about reaching a common goal, But to hold tight when the other does not seem right. I love you more than you know, I just wish I was not so slow; I want all seven lives with you, Wish you would have yearned for that too.
Here’s is whishing A very Happy Marriage Anniversary, Let’s raise a toast; For the ups and downs, Highs and lows; But please stay with me forever, Take my hand and lets be together.
The Bay Breeze half marathon in San Leandro on Feb 20th was my third half marathon race. I thought I trained adequately in the last couple of winter months. Siva's wife dropped I and him well in time to collect the bibs, shirts etc. The race setting was quite homely considering the overwhelming setting of more widely advertised and known races like San Francisco half etc. There were barely 300-400 racers and picking up the bibs, shirt and goodie bag was a breeze. The race started promptly at 9:00 AM and the race organizer announced that the race trails will mostly be alongside the bay. They also reminded all the half marathon runners to turn back after the third aid station (half way mark).
0-5 Miles : The first 5 miles was uneventful except for a very nice and flat trail. We were running very close to Marina bay and you can even touch the water if you wanted; it was so close. The weather was unseasonably cold and because it was by the bay it was quite windy as well. I completed my 5 miles in 59 minutes ~12 minutes/mile pace.
5-10 Miles : My right knee meniscus muscle and my IT band muscle started acting up. I prayed for it to go away and let me finish my race strong. By 6.5 miles when I reached the turn point and stopped for a quick drink, I was still feeling strong. However, I think I ran below my potential in this crucial segment because this five mile stretch took me 64 minutes to complete, a full five minutes late than the first five miles. Between the 9th and 10th mile, I also seem to run out of energy but a couple of “blocks” helped me to regain my focus. Since there were close to 200 participants only for this half marathon, the run seemed more lonely as there were considerable distance amongst runners.
10 -13.1 Miles : The small pain in my right knee was not bothering me anymore. I was tired but I think the last two months of training helped me to pull along. The course was so flat and predictable that sometimes you seem to get bore after running 10-11 miles. That’s when I think some help from your co-runner and / or some music helps. But neither had I had the luxury of any co-runner nor I like to run with any kind of music. The final couple of miles was no doubt a drag but surprisingly trying to walk a little bit seemed difficult than running and hence, I continued running to the finish line. At the finish line I waited for Siva to complete his race as well and cheered him up while he was finishing.
I completed in 2:47, a little over 12 minutes / mile pace. I would like to break the 2:30 finish time some day. I am sure it will take me to increase my training a couple of notches more to achieve that goal. Overall, I was satisfied that I completed the race comparatively stronger than my last two races and as long as I continue to finish strong and remain injury free, I don’t complain.
I plan to run this race again next year because of the feel of a smaller race where you don’t feel overwhelmed by the occasion and all the race necessities are available within 10 meters of start point. I would strongly recommend this race to our Fremont running group members to include this race in their itinerary for 2011. Thanks to the organizer for the nice arrangements and a beautiful finisher medal.
On January 21, Toyota announced its intention to recall approximately 2.3 million select Toyota Division vehicles equipped with certain accelerator pedal mechanisms that may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position. Toyota vehicles affected by the recall include:
• Certain 2009-2010 RAV4 • Certain 2009-2010 Corolla • 2009-2010 Matrix • 2005-2010 Avalon • Certain 2007-2010 Camry • Certain 2010 Highlander • 2007-2010 Tundra • 2008-2010 Sequoia Within a matter of days, the mood turned from “…big deal” to almost “…oh my God, what do I do now”. Toyota shut down the manufacturing of their 8 best selling models. The Transport Secretary in the US Congressional hearing announced that no one having the recalled Toyota models should drive the car except going to the dealership to get the car fixed. The stock market pushed Toyota shares downed by almost 12% within a matter of a week. What happened? A company whose cars have virtually become the bench mark of auto industry suddenly seems to be caught in its own success.
1. We live in such an interconnected and 24 hours news channel world that within a matter of hours any news can spread around the world sufficient enough to even rattle a rock solid reputation of companies like Toyota.
2. Media in their effort to sensationalize the news can really play to the psyche of people in evoking emotions at the extreme end.
3. Media channels like CNN, BBC, Fox; internet media like facebook, twitter and blogs have international reach which goes far beyond just their reach. Their coverage has the effect of shaping the opinion of masses that for most of the time fails to distinguish between facts and fictions
However, it is no denying that Toyota grossly miscalculated the magnitude of the problems affecting their cars. Hundreds of people over last few years reported problem that their accelerators just seems to get stuck and car races to uncontrolled speed resulting in even deaths of drivers and passengers.
What lesson does this event gives to us :
1. Trust and faith can be extremely fleeting - While it takes years of hard and impeccable work to reach a position of envy, it just takes a few moments or potentially a week in case of Toyota to lose the reputation. Building it back will again need years of hard work. So even if you are wildly successful, don’t take your eyes off the most critical piece of your brand, in case of Toyota- Safety
2. Perception always precedes reality - While I thought that in the last couple of years the quality of Toyota cars have come down and the quality of American cars have gone up, still I went ahead and bought a Toyota car just a couple of months back.
3. It will take a radically different kind of thinking and action in the 21st century to tackle bad news. The timing and the art of communication has to be mastered. The CEO of Toyota took almost 10 days to come out and assure the masses that they can still trust their cars. In these times of lightening speed internet world, such kind of response seemed to be so 19th century. Leaders need to be seen ahead of the problem not behind the problem.
4. Swift, decisive and futuristic action needs to be taken for defects that affect millions.
Don’t you think that some or all of these lessons also apply in our personal life? I do
Yes, I am talking about SUN Microsystems that officially requested NASDAQ to delist its stock the equivalent of turning out the lights and closing the doors. Silicon Valley is anything but a sentimental place. The pace at which things changes is incredible and the speed of the undercurrent can only be felt if you get intertwined with the humdrum of daily chores in this majestic place. Companies come and go, they start. They fail. We move on. But every once a while a giant falls and so it is with SUN which now goes by Oracle. Larry Ellison closed it $7.4 Billion deal last week and after 28 years SUN is no more.
Of course Sun leaves a trail blazing technological legacy. Its famous marketing claim that it’s the “dot in the dot-com” wasn’t hyperbole. I remember knowing the Sun servers before I was even initiated into IT. Sun pushed the idea of networked computers before most of their customers have even contemplated the possibility. It built the servers and storage to make it happen. Most of the world’s cutting edge application still resides on Sun Servers. It created Java, a programming language that allowed developers around the world to write large and complex programs for business that could run across different platforms. It was Sun that espoused the now often used concept of “platform agnostic”. Programs built in Java can be literally ported across different platform and need not be customized.
SUN has shaped Silicon Valley in ways that only a few companies have. It had the full spectrum of valley culture – an engineering vibe; an appetite for risk and a propensity for making big bets on the future. However, after the last dot com burst early in the last decade, Sun kept on struggling with fierce competition from IBM and HP. Somewhere along the way Sun lost the ability to “innovate”, the key criteria for being successful in Silicon Valley. This made them vulnerable to attacks and Oracle didn't lose too much time to go for the kill. However, it is no less inspiring to know the fact that leaders of some of the biggest compnaies in the Silicon Valley is led by people who have their roots in Sun. Consider Ed Zander of Motorola, Erich Schmidt of Google, Carlos Bratz of Yahoo and so on. It is just not co-incidence that there are countless companies that has been started by individuals who once occupied the cubicles in Sun not to talk about Sun Founders Vinod khosla, Bill Joy and Andy Bechtolsheim who are legends themselves.
Sun’s demise and reincarnation as Oracle reminded me of Hindu mythology that it’s the body that dies, soul remains free and there is life after death. I do believe the characteristics that made Sun once the darling of internet will again finds it way within Oracale.
Acknowledgement : The picture of this blog post have been picked up on internet from one of the bolg of a Sun employee
This book was referred by Rajesh, an accomplished long distance runner himself in our Fremont running group. I picked up this book to pass my time recently while on my way to Birmingham, Alabama, a long flight from San Francisco during one of my business trip.
I have never read such a book earlier and may not have picked up for reading ever, had it not been for my new found interest in running. In “Born to Run”, Christopher McDougall, an avid runner who had been vexed by injuries, explores the world of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, a tribe known for running extraordinary distances in nothing but thin-soled sandals. Mr. McDougall makes the case that running isn’t inherently risky. Instead, he argues that the commercialization of urban marathons encourages overzealous training, while the promotion of high-tech shoes has led to poor running form and a rash of injuries.
This book traces the running habit of Tarahumara Indians in Copper Canyon, Mexico who are ultra and elite long distance runner. They run either barefoot or with some kind of very thin leather sandals and have a peculiar traditional dressing. Very few people know about this tribe and the way they live deep down in canyon makes them almost invisible to modern society. The members of these tribes prefer to live in oblivion and far away from the civilized world. They have a world of their own and they fiercely protect it from outsiders.
The author tries to find out what makes these people so efficient ultra distance runners. Sometimes they run for couple of days that make modern ultra distance running quite ordinary, forget the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. The author outlines their living and eating habits and also talks about a liquid that they drink that makes them run afresh let’s say, after a grueling 50 miles run. The author also describes how the elders train the kids into running long distance that makes this book a very fascinating read.
The author then goes on to explain in great detail the effort put in by a person called Caballo to organize a race between people of Tarahumara Indians tribe and modern ultra distance runners from US. Caballo first spends 4-5 years with this tribe and himself becomes a very accomplished long distance runner. He is referred in the book as “White Horse”. The story also builds up on sneaking two such Tarahumara Indian runners in the toughest 50 miles run in US in Colarado Badlands. After seeing the ease with which these runners from Tarahumara Indian runners ran this 50 miles race, Caballo was sure that it would be a great moment to organize a race to directly pitch these runners with modern and the best ultra distance runners in US.
In between, the author, Christopher McDougall also scientifically explained that man has evolved because of its innate ability to run. The author argues that there is no animal in the world that could defeat man in long distance running and especially running in heat. The author goes on to explain that while animals like Cheetah, antelopes and other animals can outpace humans in short distance running but if you theoretically imagine a 25 or 30 miles long road then all these so called extremely fast running animals will not be able to beat human runners.
Most mammals can sprint faster than humans — having four legs gives them the advantage. But when it comes to long distances, humans can outrun almost any animal. This premise is based on the simple scientific fact that human body have millions of sweat glands through which the body cools down while running but animals like leopard can only cool-off through their tongue. After a while, the heat inside the animal body becomes more than the tongue can exchange. This is the time when the animal has to stop running or it will die and that’s the time when a human can outrun such animal. The author in fact goes to Bushmen tribe in Africa that still kills animals by just running them down by a fascinating process of team work and tracing the mark of the individual animal. This was one of the best part of the book.
The logic and the description of the author about how man kind evolved through Homo Erectus (Hopo Sapiens) primarily by their ability to run over Neanderthals is very compelling argument. The author went on to scientifically explain why we have a straight body (which helps to avoid taking in large sun lights while running), head over the shoulder and how we outsmarted other species in this evolution game by simply having the ability to run. Springlike ligaments and tendons in the feet and legs are crucial for running. (Our close relatives the chimpanzee and the ape don’t have them.) A narrow waist and a midsection that can turn allow us to swing our arms and prevent us from zigzagging on the trail. Humans also have a far more developed sense of balance, an advantage that keeps the head stable as we run. And most humans can store about 20 miles’ worth of glycogen in their muscles. The gluteus maximus, the largest muscle in the human body, is primarily engaged only during running. There are so many features in our bodies from our heads to our toes that make us good at running.”
Finally the author describes the race deep in the copper canyons of Mexico where people of the Tarahumara Indians almost lives oblivious to the modern world. The rim of copper canyon in Mexico is quite dangerous with drug lords of Mexico making their base. The author treads an extremely dangerous trek with other ultra disctance runners to the start point of the race and describes in great detail the work of Cabalo to organize the ultimate race between the casual Tamaharoo runners and the best and the fittest modern ultra distance runners.
I will not say as to who won the race billed as the toughest race ever run in human history as that will kill the soul of the book but suffice is to say that I could not stop myself reading the entire 275 odd pages from the moment I began reading the book. It gave me some more interesting insight into some of the facets about running that I was a bit skeptical about in the beginning and to some lesser extent till now. It absolutely helped me to reinforce my belief in running that it helps reduce stress, increase focus, elevates mood, brings joy and above all after reading this book that by running I might be unconsciously adding to the evolution of mankind. I will recommend this book to anyone who has even a slight interest in running. This book will do wonders to positively reinforce the joy of long distance running.
To me the biggest legacy that is left behind of that horrific attack is labeling the entire Muslim population as terrorist. The relationship between the western world and the followers of Islam completely changed after that day. While it is more than just a coincidence that the perpetrators of most of the violent and barbaric terrorist attack has been Muslims; yet to label the entire Muslims of the world as terrorist is not rational or logical either.
Posts
