Random Musings

Day before yesterday, was the fourth consecutive day of heaviest continuous rains, in Mumbai. When I woke up in the morning, I realised that it must have rained all night. It was completely overcast, and there were clear indications that traffic must be terrible. There was a chance that the kids’ school may also be closed for the day, but it wasn’t.

That was the day when most people do not go to work, and at least, don’t drive down, fearing the worst traffic mess ups. But in such cases, I have a different theory…

1. When it rains so heavily and most people might not venture out in the rains, the traffic is usually very thin, and if you do go out on the roads, at least the traffic will not bother you.

2. If you have one of the newer models of cars, it can virtually swim through water and not get stuck. You may take a chance in that case.

3. And if you avoid some expected tough water logging spots, you may not be bad off at all.

Which is exactly what I did that morning. And reached work in 45 minutes. My average commute on any regular working day, in the morning, is almost that much. So with the diversions that I took, with the potholes that did not allow speed to happen, and with rains lashing hard on the front glass, I still made it in as much time, as I normally take on a week day.

And the return that night was even more startling. With return peak traffic that I normally encounter, I usually take an hour or a little more than that to commute back. And on that day, I got home in 30 minutes flat! Rains had cleared off to an extent, but there were hardly any vehicles on the road. Regular commuters had not even started from home. There were not many takers for cabs who appeared to have not started out in large numbers that day (moreover, their Premier Padminis are most vulnerable in the rains). And goods vehicles had not started out, I guess, because the workers having not reached, the warehouses did not load out goods, nor received new vehicles for unloading. All in all, it made for one smooth ride back home!

Now the extension of the same theory works like this:

1. The day following the heavy rains, when the sun comes out, its the worst day to be out on the roads. Everyone who stayed at home, is out with a vengeance. And that is disaster. Today was that day, for me, and it took me a good 1.5 hours almost, to reach home, from work!

2. What is also a bad time to be caught on the road, is when there is a sudden outburst of rain, in the middle of the day. If it was dry in the morning, and then all of a sudden, there is this huge downpour. Nobody is ready for it, and end up going slow on the busy roads.. !

Mumbai went through one of the big big rain spells over the last 5-6 days. The sun came out today, after almost 5 days. And as Mumbai rains go, when it rained, it rained and rained..

Its a normal sight during such times, to see a humungous amount of water logging, with appearance of high tidal waves, on the roads. Well, that used to be in earlier years. This year, for a change, the water logging was hardly to be seen. The regular places where water piles up, like the King’s Circle / Gandhi Market area, were near perfect, as far as water logging goes. The area of Parel – Elphinstone road was still bad, at least 2 of these days. Perhaps that is a real low lying area patch, and there is nothing that can be done about it. But at other usual suspect places, it appears that the municipal authorities had done a good job of cleaning the sewers before the monsoon set in. And the water not piling up, in these places, was evidence of that.

But where they scored with the water drainage, the municipal authorities badly let down the citizens in the area of road conditions. After the first big rain day itself, things were terrible. Each and every road, it appeared, had given way. There were these huge potholes everywhere. Traffic goes to a crawl, with every vehicle going ever so slowly, to avoid the potholes. Vehicles suddenly veer to the left or right, when you least expect them to, as the driver tried to avoid one more hole. Fuel efficiency goes for a toss (what fuel efficiency?!). This at a time, when petrol prices are at an all time high in India, being above Rs. 42 per litre. And the tyres go through a huge test of strength. Not to speak of the test of patience of the drivers!!

Of course, the potholes bother you when it stops raining. When its raining big, you do not even see the pothole, as these are filled up with water, and you do not know what part of the road is road, and what part is the hole!

C’est la vie in Mumbai, in the rains.. !

Continuing from the previous post, I was wondering as to what is the reason that we try to balance so many things in life? Is it money? Is it fame? Really, no.. I do not think these are the reasons.

In fact, juggling with so many things is not just an adult phenomenon. I can see it in kids too. I remember that, as a kid, I would have some game or some new hobby, and I would have been engrossed in it for what seemed like ages. Perhaps also a reason, that I went deep enough into the same. When i was a little older, I was happy to see Chhaya Geet for half an hour on Thursday evenings, without worrying about changing channels, as in fact there were no other channels! How things have changed?! My kids would get bored with some new toy or a new hobby in a matter of hours! (well, small exaggeration herre.. but just making a point.. !)

Suddenly in a matter of few years, we seem to have just so much choice. So many things to do, to experience, to try out.. and we cannot put it off as we want it all! That fundamentally is the motivation for extreme multiplexing.. do this and this and this.. and do it all together.

100+ channels of programming on TV; the cell phone that takes SMS, MMS, allows loud speech, has hands-free operation, can also play music, etc.; the car radio and music player, with so much choice on hand; so many hoardings and messages eager to catch your eye..

In such a situation, how can we allow our one minute to go without ‘doing something’?!! Perils of technology and change, price of progress..

I admire people who, in this day and age, are able to cut themselves out for 10 days, for an experience like Vipassana (total cut-off from the world, no TV, no newspapers, no talking at all to anyone, basically in meditation, and relaxation – for 10 days!). I know of young persons, persons involved in demanding industry like I.T., who find a way to exit from the humdrum of life and take time off, for this experience. Needed break, I would believe…

Today was one of those huge monsoon days in Mumbai, with heavy rains lashing at you, all day long. As I drove to work, I suddenly took notice of what I was upto.

On the one hand, I had to keep juggling the wiper controls, as the rain was not uniformly heavy, and would tend to slow down once in a while. I had to adjust the wiper speed to match. Visibility was terrible, and in addition to other vehicles inching around mine, I had to watch out for the deep potholes. So concentration was on the road too. But I was alone, and I had to listen to the music while I was driving. So I switched on the radio. But that is never enough. Once I have the radio on, there is always an urge to check the ‘other station’ as there could be a better song playing there! Or why hear an advertisement. Switch channels instead. In other words, I end up reaching out with my left hand, to keep pushing alternate knobs to try to get a ‘better channel’. And of course, during this time, the ubiquitous cell phone is around. Either it would ring once in a while, or I’d remember to make that ‘one call’ right then. So juggle your fingers, keep pressing the numbers, dial.. occasionally redial, and what not.. !

All of the above is happening simultaneously!

I have had an occasional close shave, only on account of being too distracted. Perhaps while I lunged to change the channel on radio, I did not see the pedestrian who stopped in her tracks, and I had to brake sharply! Of course, there have been other ‘incidents’. When I switched off the radio, when I actually wanted to disconnect the cell phone!

Now if my hands and fingers are so busy doing multiple things, guess what is happening in my head? In addition to thinking about all of the above, I have things on mind over and above all of the above things.

I know that a lot of the above is dangerous.. Very dangerous. Often the difference between safety and otherwise, is just a momentary distraction! But it appears that I keep taking my chances inspite of this knowledge.

Is there too much happening in life? Are we multiplexing our head and hence our fingers / hands etc. a bit too much??

The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council is the premium body for the industry. Its an industry which is perhaps the highest foreign exchange earner in the country, with members travelling abroad regularly, interacting with foreign customers, exposed to international standards, attending international trade shows. And yet the India International Jewellery Show, organised by them in Mumbai from July 15-19, appears to be a lesson on “how NOT to hold a trade show”!!

 

Here is a ball-by-ball account of why I feel so:

1. At the outset, the show is restricted to trade only. You have to be connected to the industry to be able to register and attend the show. I had pre-registered before the show, and which itself, had demanded so many formalities, viz. photographs in prescribed format, letter from company, proof of identity etc. etc. Fair enough – I went through that, and got the registration.

 

2. When I landed up at the venue (time: 11:15 am) at Godrej, Vikhroli, I saw that the parking and registration formalities were organised outside the venue, on the opposite side of the Godrej complex, on the Eastern Express Highway. I took a U turn and reached that area. To find that it was pretty much a large plot of open land, muddy and slushy, and in the middle of which, a few tent like structures were hitched up, for registration. Vehicles were parked in an almost random fashion – find a corner that you can sneek your car into, and leave the vehicle there. And there were already tons of vehicles there, so I got my parking like almost 500 meters away. From where I had to walk up to the registration tents.

 

3. There I, being a pre-registered visitor, had to only go and get my card scanned and pick up a pre-registration kit. A simple lack of thought was seen here. Although there were hardly 4-5 persons in this specific queue, you still had to go through long vertical aisles with 4 turns, that you had to go through. Nobobdy thought it fit to remove the centre pieces, and let people just walk through quicker, considering that there was not much rush.

 

4. Inside with a lot of effort I found people who could guide me to the next thing to do – walk out and look for a bus to take me to the actual exhibition area. Most of the organising staff were clueless. Whoever took the contract for this organising part, must have taken it at lowest cost, and had to hire cheapest staff, whom also they did not think it necessary to train!

 

5. When I went to look for the bus starting point, I was shocked to see this long, long line out there! Yes, at least 200 persons waiting in the queue at that time, wanting to get into the bus to go inside the exhibition area. On enquiry, I was informed that I should not even think about walking in, as it was at least 1.5 km walk. So like the 200 persons who were already there, I went and stood in the queue. And with this long queue, you would expect them to run regular sized large buses, so that the queue gets cleared and people keep moving fast. But guess what? The buses (well, ‘bus’ is a joke; they were little bigger than a car!) were in fact, micro-mini-15 seater buses. Which moved slow. Which were not even fully filled up each time, for whatever reason (well I did discover the reason later, when I finally got into one of the buses; there were few persons who did attempt the walk, rather than wait for the bus, and as these persons were walking away, and the bus passed by them at a slow pace, many of them managed to hop onto the bus, having not had to wait in the queue!!). And as one stood in the queue, more people kept coming. And one could see, that the people being industry persons who often knew each other, they would greet persons standing in the front portions of the queue, and then just conveniently wait up with them, not needing to go to the end of the queue. And no organiser was there to prevent such nonsense from happening.

 

6. While I waited for the bus in the queue, I saw a different queue by the side, and one which was long when I came in, and which grew much longer all the time. This, I found out, was the queue for spot registrations. God help you, if you did not register in advance. The queue there was at least 500 persons long, and seemed to keep growing, as it moved ever so slowly. I understand that a person had to make payment at one place, get photographed elsewhere, produce the documents for confirming that they were a trade visitor, provide the photo identity of a prescribed kind only, and what not. There appeared to be one window where they only verified all these documents! Is there any wonder then, that the queue went ever so slowly. I would have guessed that one would need nothing less than 1.5 to 2 hours to go through that long queue and register. And is that all? No, obviously not. Because after registration, they come and stand in the bus queue (did anyone think of keeping a bus ready, where the last registration window was there??). Lack of imagination was completely exemplified there.

 

7. All of these queues and registration tents were in the wide open spaces, with wet mud under your feet, at most places. And it was in the middle of monsoons in Mumbai, with every chance of heavy rains likely to happen at any time. I wondered what could happen if it rained. If you had carried an umbrella, you might be fine. But like me, if you left it in the car (because you did not want to lug it around in the exhibition area), or you had not brought it with you (because you were going to see a jewellery exhibition, you thought, and not for a walk in the garden!), then what would you do, if it rained while you were standing in the one hour long queue?? Run helter skelter, with no shade in sight. And the people running with you would have been rich diamond and jewellery merchants also standing there in the queue, as also many ladies in rich saris.

Thankfully, although there were dark clouds above us, it did not rain, while I was waiting there. I do not know if it ever rained at some other time, and how did people manage then, but the point is that this is something that could have been so easily anticipated! As could have been antiticipated, the number of persons who would be attending, and registration counters, buses, etc. could have been planned accordingly. But no! They were not!

 

8. After what seemed like forever, I managed to get into one of those mini buses, and got into the exhibition area. I checked the watch when I finally reached the first exhibit. It was 12:45 pm. So having reached the venue at 11:15 am, I managed to see the first exhibit a good 90 minutes later! I can imagine that many visitors would have similar or worse experiences. Only goes to show that the organisers had NO VALUE for the time of the visitors. Also the exhibitors who would have paid a packet to take stalls there were also short charged. Because their target prospects, the trade visitors, spent more time waiting outside, than within the exhibition space. For example, I managed to cover only the one hall (out of the total of 4), and that is all the time and enthusiasm that I was left with, after the long morning outside!

 

9. Just one more point to show the sorry state of affairs. I went in to grab a bite, in the exhibition cafetaria area. Considering the large number of visitors, the cafetaria was big and busy. Lots of stalls for different types of food, with boards all around. All information, except the details of prices (there were a few select items, say around 10 out of a total of 70 items on offer, whose prices were available). There was a coupon system, so you had to buy the coupons on cash, and then the food, with the coupons. So I figured that the coupon counter would have the prices and stood in queue there, after having decided what I was going to eat. The coupon counter was at one corner of the cafetaria, and food counters were at the other side. When I went to that window, I told him what I was going to eat, and asked him how much it would cost me. To which he replied that he did not know! Ever so innocently he went on to explain that the coupons contract was with him, but not the food contract, so how can he expect to know! And if he does not know, how are we supposed to know?! He had no answer to that. Obviously the organisers did not think of making the two contractors to talk to each other! But understanding my disappointment, he did decide to give me a tip from his own side. Since I was only the one person, he suggested that about Rs. 50/- will cover my need for a sandwich and a coke, and will perhaps leave me with some spare money for a tea as well. Thankful for his advise, I took the Rs. 50/- coupons, and went and stood in the queue for the sandwich first, after which I would have gone and stood in the queue for the cold drinks (yes, indeed, it was that that kind of a day – from one queue to the other, and only in between, managing to sneak a few peaks at the exhibits too!). But guess what, when I got to to the window for the sandwich, I am told that it costs Rs. 50/-. So much for my cold drink and that extra cup of tea that the coupons guy had suggested, I may be able to get! Shocking.. to say the least!

 

I got out of the place as soon as I could. While I am sure I did see some good exhibits, guess what stayed with me, in my head, about the exhibition? You know what stayed with me… all of the above!

 

The Rotary year starts in July, and goes upto June. In other words, each new President and his Board take over in July, and are in office upto June of next year, and then a new team comes in.

For the present team, then, its hardly been about 11 days of official existence as a team, and already several interesting projects have already taken place.

Our Club has adopted one of the Municipal Schools in our city, where 6000 students study. We have recently distributes close to 800 sets of uniforms, a similar number of school bags, shoes and books, to the younger students. While this may seem mundane to many, I would like to clarify that a large majority of these children come from very poor families. Conditions at home are such that inspite of free education at the school, they cannot afford books or bags, and then on account of missing such requirements of school, they are not drawn to attend school itself. With the result that they end up on the streets, doing odd jobs, or begging, or whatever. The effort of distributing these basic necessities acts as a huge motivator for the children and their parents, to ensure the attendance at school. The joy on the faces of the kids, and their warm “thanks” were a sight to behold.

We have also started working closely this year, with the All India Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. One of the projects already underway there, was to provide a printing press, to train physically challenged persons, on the same, and thereby get them to be trained for a new vocation.

A much more ambitious project getting underway, is the provision of a van that will serve two purposes. One of the purpose will be to provide offsite support for mending and repairs of equipment for physically challenged persons. The other dual purpose that the van will serve, will be to bring physically challenged persons to the Institute for any specific needs that they may have (and which many of them have, every once in a while).

Many other projects are on the anvil, as regards the AIIPMR.

One of our Rotarian members had the previlege of being a part of a team of around 16 persons that went from India to a small town in Central Africa, where the conditions were far worse than those in India. Utter poverty, abject medical infrastructure and lack of medical personnel greeted them there. There, in the course of a few days, the team has completed close to 800 cataract operations, and virtually given new sight to those individuals.

I am so proud to be associated with this movement called Rotary, and also very happy to be a part of this specific club. When we see and experience the joy on some of the lesser previleged sections of society with a little effort from our sides, we can understand the extent of opportunity that we have to make a difference to people’s lives.

Anyone wishing to participate in cash or kind, for such good causes is welcome to post a comment and let me know.

Reliance found oil.. yet again..

It happened a day or two before their annual general meeting.

Last year also, the timing was just about similar. A few days before their results were to be announced, came the announcement of an oil find.

What timing.. what luck.. wow… some people have it all!

A business publication reported that Reliance has a more than 50% strike rate in oil finds, for all the prospecting that they are doing. Unbelievable eh? This is better than the world’s best strike rates.

So will they keep finding more and more oil, year after year?

Will they keep doing so, close to each AGM or whenever the stock needs a little pushing up?

And will the common investor remain a sucker each time?

Is the Ambani name as strong a pull on the bourses, even after Dhirubhai, as the Gandhi name is at the polls, even so many years after Indira??

I wonder..

From last 2-3 years, we have made it a practise to have an annual puja at the office. A Satyanarayan puja. For this year, we had it yesterday, 10th July.

It is a nice tradition that we have kept up now, although in other terms, I am not one to follow too many relgious procedures or practises. I mean, I am a complete believer in Him, a certain super force out there. But for me, my acknowledgement of Him, and my obeisance to Him, is in the form of a daily prayer, even if it is mouthed within myself, while driving the car (in case I missed doing so at home before leaving), and more importantly, in living as true a life as possible. Essentially, having a clear conscience.

Still this annual Satyanarayan Puja has become a nice tradition for me.

It conveys to our employees that we are indeed believers, as I am sure that amongst them, there are few who must be far more religion oriented than we are. To give them a message that we are also with them, in terms of acknowledging God and thanking him, praying to him, with proper ritual, is a good thing.

Secondly, from an overall mental perspective, it feels good – that in a way, we have taken this specific extra effort to stop work and remember God, and request his blessings.

Further, as a part of this tradition, it has also become that one day in the year, when my parents, my kids and wife, as also, my partner’s family, all visit the office. It is with their wholehearted support that we have been able to start and run this business, and to have at least this one day of the year, when they visit our office, is very heartwarming.

Yesterday’s Puja, like earlier ones, went on for about 2-3 hours. While we were expected to focus and concentrate on what the priest was telling us, and focus of God, on prayer, etc., my mind did stray. As I put those hundreds of Tulsi leaves, one at a time, in offering to Satyanarayan, I realised that it was coincidentally, an important day in the life of few loved ones as well. And I chose the occasion to also pray to God on their behalf.

My brother and bhabhi, who were celebrating their anniversary, that day. I prayed for them, and for their happiness in marriage.

My good friend, who was getting installed as President of my Rotary Club, the same evening. A very sincere, very true person, who is so dedicated to the Rotary cause. He has already put so much effort before he starts his year. And this was the day when he was getting formally installed in presence of all other members and spouses, in front of the Rotary District Governor and other dignitaries, and most importantly, in front of his close friends, family and mother. A really important day in his life. And as I thought about him, I prayed for a very successful year for him, as Rotary President.

Wife of one of my doctor friends (well, the wife is also a friend, of course!), who was celebrating her birthday. I remembered her and prayed for a healthy and happy year for her.

And I felt good about doing this. That I could remember them as I prayed, and I could pray on their behalf.. felt good. I am glad we do the Puja every year.. I am glad we did it yesterday..

They are always there when traffic slows down. Whether its a long signal, or bad roads that stall traffic, no sooner that cars start moving gingerly at any one place, you can bet that the enterprising sellers of different wares will appear.

When the flyovers were being built in Mumbai, and there were spots where one could be stuck in traffic for several minutes, they appeared with their cold bottles of water, tetrapak drinks (Frooti and the lot) and some Haldiram munchings. In the later parts of night, when the husbands are returning home with a little more guilt at being late, these guys tempt with the gajras (well, alternately if you are headed for Chandni bar, you may need to wear it around your wrists). There are seasonal products – some fancy mirror hanging for the car, or a fun toy for the kids at home, and India map key hang (the latest fad on the streets), or colorful sun screens for the car. You name it, and they have it.

I am sure that there is an interesting distribution chain running behind these kids, and they are identifying stuff to keep peddling on the traffic stops. And the real product planning must be happening at that stage, but there is certainly enough skills that the sellers themselves show.

They know in just the 2 seconds of view if a prospect is a likely buyer and worth wasting more time at their window or not; if not, they would just as well move on to the next guy ahead. They are also sharp negotiators, and know the value of making a sale, quickly. If they can accept the price, it will be one quick decision, because they know the light will turn green and the chance of a sale will be lost. The magazine and book sellers who have a range of mags on their hands, also know what mag to offer to whom. Cosmopolitan for memsaab, The Economist or Business Today for the badasaab, Gentleman or the latest fitness book, for the yuppie saab, etc.

In a matter of a few hours, they must be making decent money (my guess would be an average of 250/- to 500/-), with variable margins, clearing off inventory, and what not.

Would not be a bad idea of pick our salespersons from amongst these boys, or maybe send some of our sales chappies for training, on the streets!!

Saw Lakshya last night. Inspite of it being a 10:15 pm show at the end of a tiring working day, managed to stay awake and saw the movie. Quite captivating, I must say. Very good direction by Farhan Akhtar. Each and every scene appeared to have been well planned and executed. Like a great amount of thought going into the making of the film. Some excellent camera work. Lights have been used brilliantly; the picturisation of the Preity-Hrithik song had some exceptional effects. In that song as also on the war front, the use of light and shadows was quite well done. The song “Main Aisa Kyon Hoon” and the dancing of Hrithik in that one, is the equivalent of the bright idea of “Woh Ladki Hain Kaha” in Dil Chahata Hai. As Farhan was everywhere on TV, as part of the pre-release promos, heard few things like how Farhan himseld had done “nothing” for a couple of years in his youth, like Hrithik’s character in this movie. Also that one of the reasons that Hrithik was preferred for this role, was the physical demands of the role. and indeed, there are many physically challenging scenes that Hrithik figures in, and I cannot imagine any other leading star of the day being able to do so.

Coming back to Farhan though, it does appear to be a good follow up on the fabulous Dil Chahata Hai. And a very different and unique theme too. Which is not so common.

Lets consider few other successful directors of recent times.

Suraj Barjatya did well with his two films, but they were of the same broad style.

Likewise Karan Johar. Kal Ho Na Ho is a bit of a departure, which he has not directed.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali had a good movie in Khamoshi, which bombed at the box office, and then made the super duper success, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Only to stoop to mega budget, over aggressive marketing, and ordinary execution (by his lofty standards, as demonstrated in HDDCS) for Devdas (never mind the box-office success).

Nagesh Kukunoor had a good Hyderabad Blues, followed by very average Rockford and some stupid Bollywood farce, till he came up with a great Teen Deewarein. And now we await Hyderabad Blues 2.

Aditya Chopra, of course, has inherited the magic touch of his father.

But Farhan Akhtar has certainly proved himself to be made of strong stuff.. Lakshya is good!