What happened today.......

"Dilli Bus Seva Me Aapka Swagat Hai" (Welcome to Delhi Bus Service) greeted me as I entered into the 469 bus-route from Kalkaji. My college had just got over and I was desperate to reach home. The swanky new bus did attract me, which normally is splashed in orange color. GPS system and much more technological features on this bus made me really proud of my city, until what followed next. The rain had already waterlogged the streets and a massive jam made my blood boil. What i noticed was that the driver was driving the bus in a disciplined manner, on a particular lane, following almost all traffic rules (well 100% is impossible in India).

New Cluster Bus In Delhi

I still had not got any seat so i hung up to the pole. My eyes dried up gazing at the scenery that passed by. Then all of a  sudden.

THUG!!

I looked around to see if the bus had rammed into something or was it an another casualty. The driver was seemingly perfect in his approach. Then,

THUG!!

THUG!!

 I looked to my left. And then I Then I realized.

A huge army of government school students(boys) were chasing our bus in order to aboard it. The driver was in no mood to open the automatic doors as he was quiet aware that they were not going to pay anything and would rather crowd the bus.The boys did not give up either, taking the long traffic jam as an opportunity they chased the bus like wild dogs as if this was the last bus from this side of the earth.

They gathered like hounds to the left side of the buses,gave it a look, and started pushing the doors inwards. I thought the world was coming to an end, then why would they be so desperate?

They were also united. Mighty hands with determination were exerting pressure on the glass doors.

The conductor started shouting at them. But who was to hear him anyways? What followed was kicking the doors. All about 6 boys were doing this simultaneously to make it wide open.What followed next was interesting.
A gentleman(actually he was in his 20s) with his back pack suddenly plunged into a reflexive mode & started opposing their nuisance single-handedly by pressing the doors outwards.
The boys were surprised as if who in this planet could have given them a counter-challenge. They started hurling pure abuses at him although he was not going to relent. the bus had started moving and around 20 students were hung to each other and eventually one to the bus. The leader  of the pack said "Jaanta hai mera baap kaun hai?" (Well, you know you are in Delhi when you hear this.).To be continued.....

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 India License.

'The Delhi Metro Citizen'

Now, brace yourself for a thorough sarcasm, 'cuz I think its necessary.
Public tolerance is a far hidden word here in India. Doesn't seem to come in any dictionary. But I was surprised when citizens of this country went to become civilised to an extent that made me laugh. Delhi is however not that bad guys. :)
So I am a high-school pass out and recently in my search for an admission in a good college in Delhi University I had a chance to witness few 'extra-ordinary' moments which i later narrated to my companion who accompanied me to St.Stephens College. The journey happened to be on Delhi Metro (I am totally proud of this thing). After all its one of the best public transport systems in the country and only among the few tube systems in the world which is making considerable profit. Delhiites like this. Oh!! but wait, when Delhiites use something, they don't give it that respect that it deserves. Yes, you know that & statistics also shows.
We boarded our train from Saket Metro Station in South Delhi and the trip was however estimated to last about 45 minutes. Fortunately we got our hands on a few seats (well, that was really fortunate, you know). the compartment happened to be the last and there wasn't that big rush. One could hear continuous message being given by public information system ( by the end was totally irritated by this). There was a pin-drop silence in the whole train. No one yelling (i mean speaking) at each other. Well this is hard to find in India if you once happen to travel the Indian Railways.

 No one was concerned with anything. Except for a few who gorged on their Blackberry games. the train was moving at a considerable speed and we were also busy cracking some good jokes. Every following station that i witnessed was in fact heartening to see. I am talking about the following picture:
And then I though about a travel host In National Geographic Channel who once claimed  that Indians lived life
'King-Size'.
To be continued.....

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 India License.

The Great Indian Rich-Poor Divide.

"It makes me wonder why someone would do that, the person who lives in there should be concerned about what he sees around him and can he make a difference"

 Ratan Tata, an eminent business tycoon, made this comment a few days back on how his compatriot(in business terms) could delve himself in such an 'opulence'. The comment quickly gained flame on the age-old topic of astonishingly high below poverty line people living in this country.

Stark Contrasts

Somesay, it is for them to decide what they should do with their hard earned money. We all know how ambanis made their business empire as it is today. They have their own choice, their wealth its for them to decide what they should do with it. 'Antilla', a $ 2 billion skyscraper built at the heart of the city's premier location. Mind you, its a residence complex, a dream come true project by India's richest human. but the building is not the case here as earlier said.
Though the country is one of the fastest developing economies of the world, poverty that it sustains still remains the black issue. According to the latest report more than 50% of India's population live in extreme poverty. Although it should be clearly noted that these people are in this situation not because Ambanis, Tatas & Birlas are rich. Its the petty governance that leads to this condition and unfortunately we have to bow our heads in shame.
Although its not compulsory for anyone to help someone in distraught and 'charity' doesnt solve this issue and neither does it have the power to solve one. the truth lies in one's conscience. Just think living in a 27 storey billion dollar home and it foresees one of the largest slum dwellers in the world. Problem here right?
Okay, the middle class living standards are improving but the share of the so called '9% growth' doesn't even benefit a large portion of the population. though how inclusive the growth might be, we cant blame the government alone. Of late there has been a perception that Indians are indulging in show-offs, showing their wealth and exaggerating spending on some occasion are a few examples. just think how this surplus money can benefit millions of people.
Efficient governance and good policy decisions are the key to some good hope otherwise who knows the country would be like in another 20 years.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 India License.

The Curious Case Of the IITs

"There is hardly any worthwhile research from our IITs. The faculty in the IIT is not world class. It is the students in IITs who are world class. So the IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) and IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) are excellent because of the quality of students not because of quality of research or faculty"

Yesterday, Mr.Jairam Ramesh our Hon'ble Minister for Environment and Forests(MoEF) made this startling remark. This is in-turn has prompted a retort from teachers of the two premier institutions of the country. Okay Lets leave this comment aside and assess what his comment was meant (to be).

First, Of course IITs & IIMs are the epic centers of highly concentrated brains in science and management alike. To get into anyone of these you should either have genes inherited from the kins of the Aryabhattas and Einsteins or atleast you should have the patience to gorge yourself into the books 24X7.

I always wondered if (in worst case scenario) i got admissions into any one of these, how would be my life like? N.B: I dont intend to joke on their integrity or the tremendous skill they posses. But the truth in India was in the early 60s and 70s, if you were born a boy, you were to take engineering as profession. keeping this growing trend in their long-term plans the Govt. of India established few more of these institutions.  And BANG!!! a new era starts. Now it was a nightmare for anybody if he took any commerce or Arts as University subjects. B.A. was nothing but a degree and was treated like.... (yes you can make it). Engineering was the 'degree of opulence' in Indian households. But getting into these was a herculean task from the beginning itself.

Long sleepless nights, depressed all for the sake of 'family honour'.

Times changed, this is 21st century. though we have more liberal households now the procedure for the so called science students remain the same.
Peolple lable it as one of the toughest entrance exams in the world. Although as a result the students infused after admission are like specimens of living Einsteins the faculty hasn't changed much. The success of IITs depend on the quality infusion of students. faculty has more role to play. Thats why being one of the premier institutions in the country we fail to share the big stage with other 'world-class' institutions. I am extremely proud of the 'quality of our education' though : Its the best in the planet.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 India License.