Here comes the Mumbai Monorail

H of the A to Z Challenge

I woke up this Sunday all excited. I was after all finally going to take a ride in the first Mumbai Monorail today!  I know I speak of it as a joy ride instead of something that should be more of a commute, but well, ever since its inception, almost a lakh people were found to be taking joyrides on weekends and I was just one of them!  For a paltry Rs 11, one could take a ride all the way from Chembur to Wadala in the monorail that snaked its way from its elevated tracks offering views that ranged from the refinery, the eastern freeway, to quiet neighborhoods and unfortunately, also slum colonies. It was little wonder that people came from far and wide through Mumbai to take a ride in this much touted mode of transport.

Much has been said about the route selected for the first monorail in Mumbai – Chembur to Wadala, and how mostly useless it will be.  However, people do need to understand that this route will be extended to South Bombay to the hub of several office areas.  With enough slums all over Mumbai, there must have been only a few pockets where they could actually clear out the slums or buildings and create infrastructure for the monorail.  That being said, I agree, that the current route to Wadala may not be that useful for a lot of commuters, but at the same time, it has connected several areas of Chembur that were previously far off from any station for local trains.

I went early in the morning at around 9:00 a.m. to avoid the crowds and get a quick entry and skip those winding queues that I had previously seen  at later times snaking down the stairways spilling on to the roads.  My bags were checked, I was frisked and I could enter the swanky station onto the ticketing line.  Tickets were in the form of tokens that one needed to swipe at the entry point and save through the journey and return at exit.  I guess, all these security measures will work for now, but once the real commuter crowds swell, I doubt if this time consuming model of checking, frisking and ticketing will work if the crowds swell to the level of local train stations.

More security greeted us at the platform as they guided the passengers to stand back and safely. A delightful pink hued monorail train soon arrived and we entered it. It had pink interiors, a few seats and was air conditioned. Wide windows ensured we got a lovely view too.  Most, if not all passengers were in high spirits excited to be in the monorail as everyone scrambled to be near the windows. But on the whole, it was fairly orderly inside. 

On the whole I enjoyed it and I don’t have complaints. Only, I wonder why there aren’t any benches on the station? After all, a 15 minute frequency for a train is quite tiring!

Being a resident of a neighboring area, I also wonder why the work has been done so haphazardly at the station – There are two half-finished stairways that lead to nowhere in the middle of the road that as it is has so little area to walk on being encroached on both sides.

I think the security measures are a must, but I wonder how long they will be sustainable.  I hope though that people are civil enough and take pride in this new mode of transport and desist from disfiguring it with paan-stains, graffiti, and disfiguring the monorail infrastructure in any way even without the security.

I look forward to the second phase of the Monorail that will extend to Jacob Circle and will finally be more useful as a commute to many more people.

A few pictures from the journey –

The Monorail map

A cricketing view from the train

As I took a photo of the taxi on the eastern freeway, the person in the taxi took one of the monorail!

Imax Dome as seen from the monorail

Tokens

Station

The inevitable slum view

Finally, the monorail itself!

Swanky station

Gotta Ink that Finger

G of the AtoZ Challenge

It is that time of the year when roads are being repaired, repainted, beautified, built and passed to be built! It is that time of the year when the talk of the town is politics. It is when media starts being cautious about siding with only the ruling government.  It is when the report cards are being printed for the ruling alliance. It is the year of populist measures which may not be necessarily be good are adopted..food ‘security’ bill was passed, electricity rates were slashed, more slums were legalized…This is when politicians start giving a damn about the common man. Ladies and gentleman, it is election time!

The longest elections in the country’s history have been announced to be from April 7 to May 12 in 543 constituencies in India to elect Members of the Parliament in the Lok Sabha.  About 81.5 crore or 815 Million people of the country are eligible to vote in the elections at an expense of Rs. 3,500 crore. Parties are expected to spend Rs 30,500 crore or US $5 Billion in the elections.

Most priorities have not changed over decades and clean water, sanitation, electricity, employment, and roads continue to rule the roost in manifesto.  After being party to several huge scams running in tens of thousands of crores, curbing corruption is another promise by most parties.  Price rise, economy, security and secularism are other priorities this election.

Key alliances/parties are –

UPA – The United Progressive Alliance ruling alliance led by the Indian national Congress party is the incumbent party which was in power for the last decade.  It has largely promoted Rahul Gandhi a scion of the Gandhi family which has ruled India for the greater part of the history of independent India.  He is the youth icon and leader for Congress.  Many see him to be weak, dumb and ineffective and more so after his (in)famous interview with Arnab Goswami. It remains to be seen if he can prove his detractors wrong.

NDA – BJP is the largest party leading the National Democratic Alliance.  Narendra Modi is the face of BJP and is touted to be the leader who can bring real change based on the development he brought in Gujarat where is Chief Minister. However, the ghost of the communal riots of Godhra looms large even though the highest court in the country has acquitted him and it remains to be seen if the Muslims vote for him despite his promises of development and his success in Gujarat.

AAP – The newly formed Aam Admi party by maverick Arvind Kejriwal took the country by storm when they won the Delhi elections.  With several populist promises and a sincere image to root out corruption, AAP has become a formidable opponent to the established parties of Congress and BJP.  However, it is a new party with little experience and the question is, will voters who are disillusioned with the current stock of parties actually cast their votes for him despite its inexperience.

Additionally, there are several regional parties such as BSP, DMK, Shiv Sena, MNS, CPI etc. which have considerable presence in specific states and may or may not be allied to the key parties mentioned above. Any alliances they make with the party stalking a majority come with a wide range of terms and conditions. These alliances are sometimes formed after the polls.  This can make the government if it meets the majority with their help unstable and vulnerable as it caters to their whims and fancies.

Will the 2014 general elections change who is in that hallowed chair of power or reelect them?  I do hope everyone eligible to vote in India is responsible enough to vote and I urge the literati to be a little less cynical about how everyone is the same and just go vote to bring about a decisive majority, stability in the government and a government who will be responsible.  Remember, it is a privilege and a right to be able to choose who will rule us.

Fantastic Firsts

F of the AtoZ Challenge

The first everything is special. The first day of college, the first job, the first day of a new job, the first visit to a new city, the first time you take a flight, the first car, the first date, in the spirit of the election time.. the first time you vote, the first phone you buy, the first time you meet your special someone, the first time you buy a house..so many firsts!

Firsts are exciting enough for grown-ups, what to say about babies and their ‘achievements’ read as milestones in baby development parlance.  I am a mom to a 8 month old baby.  The first three months of babies are pretty much spent in sleeping, eating, peeing and pooping.  Once they get used to the fact that they are in a world outside the womb, do they start taking interest in their surroundings and gradually opening up. 

The first smile is a milestone.  The first laugh makes things much more fun.  Then are the firsts in which more strength is required. The first time she will roll over, the first time she will lunge forward, the first time she will sit up, the first time she will stand up, her first independent steps,  and so forth!  Then the first bites come into picture – the first time she eats food apart from milk, her first tooth and so forth.

It is an exciting time for parents and family who cannot help but see how fast she starts growing up.  Look forward to many more firsts for her and for me!

What was/were the Firsts  you have fond memories of?

The first time she stood

Enid Blyton Enchants for Eons

E of the AtoZ Challenge

My favorite author as a kid was and still is Enid Blyton – the writer who fueled imagination in thousands of kids across the world and in India as well.  So many books, so many series, so many characters and so many worlds.

As a young child I was enthralled with the world of Brownies, Pixies, Goblins, Fairies, Witches, Wizards and the little magic people who were introduced to me by my Mom who used to read out Enid Blyton’s stories aloud to me.   The first book I remember (it may not have been the first I heard) was that of the cheeky Brer Rabbit and his antics.  I slowly started on the Green Book of stories, the Yellow Book etc. and then I was completely enchanted by the magic Faraway tree. How I wish I lived near the Faraway tree and could go visit the Saucepan Man, Silky the elf and Moon-face and the land of Ice-creams.  The Wishing-Chair adventures had me hoping one of our chairs would magically sprout wings and what fun it would be to whiz away!  To this day, Chinky from the Wishing-Chair adventures remains my favorite pixie.

Other characters I enjoyed were the naughty doll Amelia-Jane, Mr Pink Whistle, Noddy, Mister Meddle, etc.   Then there were the little boys and girls such as Billy Bob, Belinda, Betsy-May in whose worlds I lived. 

If early school had me in the throes of the magic people, later it was the mystery series and the school-series.  The Five Find-outers, Famous Five, the adventure series, the circus stories, snubby-loony series, the secret seven.. I read them all. But my very favorite were the Five Findouters.  I must have had a crush on Fatty, of the Five-Findouters with his sharp wit and mind in solving mysteries and teasing the irrepressible Mr. Goon!

Malory Towers , St-Clairs and the Naughtiest girl’s school were super too and how I wanted to attend one of the midnight feasts or be present for the wicked Alicia’s tricks on the teachers!  The characters of Darrel, Sally, Belinda, Irene, Elizabeth (the naughty girl) are permanently etched in my mind and I recall fondly all their stories and life at the school.

Looking back I feel so fortunate that I was introduced to the world of Enid Blyton and could enjoy so much fantasy, go on adventures with the kids, eat scones and drink cool lemonade!

From Wikipedia - Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer whose books have been among the world's bestsellers for children since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies in 90 languages.  How many books did she write?  - Well, if I consider all her writing, here is an approximate number provided by enidblyton.net –

• 186 novels/novelettes
• 250 character books
• 924 short story series books
• 267 education books
• 201 recreation books
• 174 continuation books
• 284 Enid Blyton contributions

Enid is credited with writing over 10,900 short stories, poems and plays through her career, but some were used many times so the actual number is more like 7500. Plenty has been written about her books being sexist, racist and how several of her books have been mired in controversy and even banned from public libraries.  However that has not deterred her young readers from reading them over and over again all the same.

Have you read Enid Blyton as a kid? Which were your favorite books/characters?

Dates of Oman

D of the AtoZ Challenge

The Sultanate of Oman where I grew up is known for its beautiful beaches, rolling hills, bare mountains and the sandy desert.  The brown hue is predominant in most landscapes when I think of this country.  Another brown element to add to this natural canvas is dates!  Luscious brown and red dates hang tantalizingly almost touching the ground in parks, roads, in house gardens, and in public areas everywhere. It is a pity that commoners can’t pick them from the trees! Here are some pictures of these lovely date trees.

Choice for the poor, rich and the bourgeois!

C of the AtoZ challenge

There is always a choice. Sometimes there are several choices. Sometimes there are too many choices. And sometimes, despite all the choices one feels there is none!

The longest elections in the country’s history have been announced to be from April 7 to May 12 in 543 constituencies in India to elect Members of the Parliament in the Lok Sabha.  About 81.5 crore or 815 Million people of the country are eligible to vote in the elections at an expense of Rs. 3,500 crore.

The choice: The choice in a democratic country is to vote.  It is unfortunately not mandatory but a lot is at stake – the governance we get, the progress India makes all depends on that all important Vote. Make the choice to vote.

Several choices: With a multi-party system there are several choices on who to vote for with easy choices being either the BJP or the Congress or their allies

Too many choices:  If you consider the independent candidates, regional parties, major parties, to make the right choice, you will have to examine a long list to find out who you want to elect! There were about 14 candidates per seat* (National average) in the last election and numbers are likely to go up.

Many choices but no choice – After all the research you may find most candidates are barely literate, are criminal, have a history of being corrupt or are incompetent rendering all the choices useless.

This election, take the pledge to vote. Shed the cynicism and vote for the party which has an ideology that appeals to you and whose leadership and vision you think will make a difference. Your next government could very well be because of the choice you make.

*source TOI

Book Review: Marvels and Mysteries of the Mahabharata by Abhijit Basu

The Mahabharata is hailed as India’s greatest epic and poem. The continual war between cousins and the politics that leads to the war are widely known.  Also recounted in the Mahabharata is the Bhagvad Gita, a spiritual discourse on the way of life and hundreds of other stories that philosophize on various facets in our day today lives.

The book - Structure

The jacket claims, “Marvels and Mysteries with its lucid and engaging narrative, seeks to unravel some of its enigmas: the characters of Vyasa, Krishna, Yudhisthira, Arjun, and Draupadi; aspects of the Mahabharata’s historicity; medley of interpretations…’

True to its blurb, this is indeed what the book aims to achieve.  The book Marvels and Mysteries of the Mahabharata is divided into two parts – The first seeks to unravel some of the stories and delve into the lesser hailed heroes in the Mahabharata.  The second part of the book throws light on the various interpretations and its historicity.

I have not seen many treatises (atleast in popular writing for a lay person) on the lesser sung heroes such as Draupadi and Yudhistira and much less Vidura and the great sage Vyasa because of whom the whole Mahabharata played out and was recorded. 

Yudhisthira’s wisdom is highlighted in the book through his debates with his family and Q&A sessions with the Yaksha in the lake and King Nahusha.  His gambling habit is debated and his way around a few ethical dilemmas is discussed in the book. Another interesting take is a potential controversial relationship to Vidura.

I found the chapter on Draupadi particularly interesting.  Several facets of her personality  apart from her renowned ageless beauty are raised in the book. Her perceived haughtiness, her intelligence in her debates with Yudhistira and her questions to the elders are mentioned in the book. 

The second part of the book is particularly interesting too with the history of the various interpretations and the half-a-century development of the ‘Critical Edition’ which is now considered to be standard for any study on the Mahabharata. Several similarities have also been drawn with epics from other cultures such Greek and Sumerian.  Inter-relationships between the other great Indian epic the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have also been shown. 

My take

What I liked in the book was that lesser hailed characters or lesser known facts of well known characters are discussed.  Several questions about what the truth may really have been about Pandu and his supposed descendants are discussed.   Some uncomfortable questions around the ethics of Lord Krishna such as the extermination of Jarasandha, Shishupala , the rampage with Arjuna in the Khandava forest are discussed.  His character is ‘un-deified’ and questions are raised on his divinity. Although one would perceive many of his actions as incorrect, the writer needs to explain the bigger picture as talked about in the Bhagvad Gita on why these actions were necessary. But then not liking the part of not treating Lord Krishna as divine would be a more biased view on my part being a believer of Krishna.  But well, there are several other ethical dilemmas in the Mahabharata that are long debated and the ones raised on Lord Krishna are just some of them. Perhaps in the next volume, we can get a glimpse of more lesser discussed characters such as the twin Pandava brothers, Kunti and others.

All in all, I enjoyed reading the book and learning and understanding a few more facets of the epochal epic that is Mahabharata.   I look forward to more volumes on this series though.  There are way too many things to be learnt from this great epic! I would give a rating of 3.5 stars on 5 to this book.

To buy the book on Amazon check out the link here - http://www.amazon.in/Marvels-Mysteries-Mahabharata-Abhijit-Basu/dp/9381836787

Aloha Goa!

A of the AtoZ Challenge

On this first day of the A-Z challenge, I am preening away at my favorite beach destination Goa.   Sunglasses, sunscreen and a Hawaiian mocktail in hand are my weapons to fight the blazing sun. 

I wonder what it is about the beach that attracts millions of people from all across the world.  Perhaps it is the sensation of the waves caressing the skin and retreating, perhaps it is the soothing sound of the waves, perhaps it is the unpolluted cool air breeze, perhaps it is the natural view in the expanse of the sea bereft of buildings and concrete, perhaps it is the slippery sand that is almost as fluid as the water itself, perhaps it is a combination of all these factors that make the seaside a place to relax and rejuvenate.  Goa with several tranquil beaches, as opposed to the noisy Mumbai beaches, offer undisturbed peace that are ideal to de-stress from the distress in Mumbai!

While undisturbed beaches can be found all along Konkan, Goa offers a culture of its own. Beachside shacks, adventure sports to watch or indulge in, Goan food (so what if I am a vegetarian), scenic Portugese bungalows and buildings, winding roads, scenic coconut groves, party places of course, ..at the risk of this blog sounding like a travel advertisement…Goa does have it all for the babies, the kids, the young, the middle-aged and the old!

This is the first vacation that I have taken after the birth of my baby daughter SSS and her first trip to a beach as well.  She has rather enjoyed all the water on the beach, in the kiddie pool and the bathtub and water is all that she wants to be in all day!

A few snapshots from my trip here.

The A-Z Challenge

It was last year when I heard of this challenge from a group of women bloggers.  26 posts in 26 days for each day of the month of April except Sundays.  That is daunting.  Especially for a person who was struggling to write even 2 posts a month.  And well, that is precisely why I took on this challenge. To help me to get back to writing and reading others blogs!

Between a full-time job, being a Mom and doing everything else at home, I hope I survive this challenge, but forgive me if I can’t!  Look forward to hearing from my readers and encouraging me to keep writing and get this blog alive and kicking again!

Read more on this challenge here -

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

SSS turns six months old!

Yesterday was Makar Sankranti.  A change of season.  The day that heralds spring.  SSS has also moved into a new phase today, she turned six months old!

The first year is replete with counting days and then months. After the first month , every monthly birthday is an occasion till the baby turns One.  The three month and the six month marks are fond occasions as well. It is after three months that the baby sleeps and lets the mom sleep for longer, she starts smiling and responding more, new skills are picked up at great celerity and generally is a ball of cuteness!  After six months, a new phase starts where she starts eating food apart from milk, she recognizes her family, starts learning new things at a break-neck speed, is more interactive than ever before and demanding as well! 

Now we need to buy a whole lot of new stuff!  From the infant to 0-3 months to now 6-12 month category stuff, it all changes!  We now have to buy bigger nappies, larger milk bottles, bigger clothes, newer toys and baby food for her!

I have forgotten the sleepless nights and the difficult first three months entirely.  Her smile every morning lights up the day and we wait to find out what new antics she picks up during the day!

The First day of becoming a Mom

Anticipation was rife, the wait seemed endless and the eagerness to welcome a new member overwhelming.  My parents had come visiting waiting to welcome the new member.  One fine evening of July 14, several prayers were said and invocations made to the Lord hoping that the baby inside heard them. Well, it is almost as if she heard the chants and decided to come out to listen to them better!  After nine months of waiting, I finally went into labor that night. A few painful hours that actually went by pretty quickly, on July 15, 2013 she came out, a tiny white bundle of plenty of joy!

With boys and more boys in the family, everyone heaved a sigh of relief as ‘It’s a girl!’ was announced. Finally, the dreams of buying frilly frocks, jewelry, dainty accessories and dolls were going to come true. 

My first glimpse of her was a tiny pair of legs disappearing as the nurses took her away after she was out.  A few minutes later, a white wrapped bundle with eyes that didn’t want to open to the bright new world outside, was finally handed for everyone to peer at.  Tiny eyes, a tiny nose, tiny lips. Tiny had a new definition!

Well, it was then time to rest and recover from those nine months. Yeah and I didn’t know the importance of rest till the next three months happened!

I am going to try and not make this a solely baby blog, but I presume my current obsession with the baby might make me do just that!  Till then, bear with me.

The Reliance Digital Store Experience

With an increasing number of gadgets, shopping for electronics is an activity that has become almost as frequent as shopping for clothes!  With an increasing dependency on gadgets and electronic appliances, a reduced life of these electronic items and rapid change in technology that makes our gadgets obsolete in a few months, a trip to the electronics store is usually a must for me every time I visit a mall.

Indiblogger came up with a fun contest that entailed visiting a Reliance Digital store from a select list and blogging about the experience. I chose to visit the Reliance Digital Store at the sprawling R-city mall at Ghatkopar.

A couple of other bloggers had visited at the same time, and we were welcomed by the store manager Arun.  We first presented the printouts of the emails we had from Indiblogger, and gave him our identity details.  Once these formalities were over with, a quick store tour was arranged for us. 

The store

The store manager giving us insights on the store

The store
The store itself was quite huge - about 15,000 sq feet.  Spacious aisles and spaces made movement much easier and the specially designed lighting that was conducive for shopping made for a pleasant visit.  There were designated areas for experiencing various products and appliances and well marked out zones for each product.

A large display of TVs

Kitchen appliances

The spacious gaming experience zone

The Customer experience

The theme of the Reliance Digital store was ‘happiness’ said the manager. And indeed, they had done much right from having the guard to greet customers to decorating the store with bright balloons, and brightening the atmosphere. Unlike a lot of stores, where for example, dummy mobiles are used instead of the real ones, Reliance Digital believes in enhancing the customer experience by allowing them to use and experience any gadget they fancy.

With the latest array of Smart phones, TVs, home theaters, gaming consoles, and other appliances, Reliance allowed its customers to try out everything in specially designated areas. There was a home theater room where one could experience sound, a huge panel of TVs where comfortable sofas were kept for easy viewing, a spacious gaming area where several kids and adults could be seen trying out the X-box or the PS3 and a mobile zone where mobile geeks were seen trying out the newest and exciting phones.

The Home Theater Room to experience sound

Playing on the PS3 using a motion controller

TV viewing

Checking out the latest mobiles

Knowledgeable staff
What was particularly good, was the helpful and knowledgeable staff who were very helpful in explaining features and functions of every gadget, no matter how expensive or inexpensive it was.  I was looking out for blenders, and the sales executive, patiently answered all my questions and even gave me a demo.

Product and service support
The third thing which Reliance scores on is its after sales service which it promises is excellent. I hope it is indeed so!

At the end of the store tour, the store manager, took pictures of us, asked us to take pictures if we pleased and instructed his staff to answer any questions we had. We were promised a goody bag and an ipod shuffle at the end of the visit. Although, this was not given at the time we went to visit the store, the store promised to send it to us later. All in all, I was happy with the experience and came away a happy customer with my blender as well!

This post was written for an Indiblogger promotional contest  http://www.indiblogger.in/indistuff/4/. All the views in this post are mine.

Pedestrian rants

Walking has been well established as a great exercise for years now, and getting chores done around the block by walking to them instead of taking carbon emitting vehicles is an added bonus.  Unfortunately, in the city of Mumbai, one can’t help but rue the state of affairs for pedestrians. I live in the suburb of Chembur and find it downright depressing and difficult to walk outside the confines of my home within a radius of a km without stumbling or falling at least once.  If for the able it’s an onerous task to walk around the block. I shudder to think of how the disabled, old or pregnant manage! Every step I take is riddled with questions for the BMC and government in the order of difficulty I see in tackling the issue –

• Why can’t that broken tree that has been lying on the footpath for the past two months be cleared up? Are the authorities waiting for the monsoons to break more trees so you can do away with them at the end of the year?
• I know there is a need to dig up roads and footpaths for work around pipes and cables, but can the rubble be cleared up from the footpath once the work is done? And can the road be restored to its former condition instead of callous dumping of the rubble on the road making it uneven and potholed? The same goes for demolition of encroachments or slum rehabilitation projects. The rubble simply lies there for years!
• Desilting the drains is great, but when will that filth get cleared away?
• Can we have those absolutely scary open manholes covered and have the covers in line with the footpath?
• The road on which the Chembur-Wadala metro is built near the Fine Arts Auditorium road  is really narrow and cannot house pedestrians, speeding vehicles, parked vehicles, bus stops and encroachments. How do we cross the road and where do we walk? Can we have a signal somewhere on this road near the Golden lawn restaurant to help us cross and a footpath to walk on?
• Is there a lack of civil engineers at BMC?  I see people walking off footpaths solely because the footpaths go up and down, up for a while, then there’s a gate, and down we go and narrowly escape slipping.  And this too, near a school for disabled people! Can we please have more leveled footpaths?
• I know people love hawkers, but the station road has absolutely no place to walk. Stringent vigilance or fines need to be meted out to free up some space on the road.
• Lastly, we need more open spaces to walk!  The Gandhi Maidan is the only large ground for a huge radius around. While two corners are used as urinals or dumping garbage, the other corners and sides of the ground are used by smokers, drug addicts and gamblers who have made this ground a den for their activities in broad daylight. Safety of women is highly compromised with high fences, very poor lighting and the presence of antisocial elements. Can we have at least some lights on the ground, lower fences and regular security checks to ensure safety?

I can’t expect any change in the attitude of bikers and vehicles who believe pedestrians should not exist on roads and try and loudly honk this breed away or speed up when we try to cross, but a few simple measures of clearing up the filth, rubble, broken trees, defunct encroachments, fixing manhole covers correctly, and leveling of footpaths, and the addition of signals at junctions will certainly go a long way in ensuring safety of pedestrians. 

It's a sellers market for Mumbai builders

I have been following several reports on Mumbai real-estate being in the hunt of a house.  Most reports I have been reading are positive that there is going to be a correction this year, and the real-estate bubble in all major cities in India including Mumbai is definitely going to burst.   Unfortunately for the poor buyer, reality usually is bleak.

Here is why I think Mumbai is a terrible place to buy a house.

• The number one is of course the highly extortive rates charged in Mumbai. It was hilarious to see a reputed builder come out with a new housing scheme for affordable housing. Well, the affordable house was at Rs 95L+taxes for a 1bhk  and around Rs 1.4Crores in the suburb of Chembur. Since when indeed did figures of Rs 1Crore become so affordable for all!?  So called ‘luxury’ housing by the same builder started at more than Rs 3 Crores for a 2 BHK (about 1000sq ft) in a farther off suburb. Really wouldn’t you rather shell out Rs 50,000 per month  for the next 10 years (60L) for a similar house and still make more money on interest in a fixed deposit?! (2L per month @8% simple interest). 
  Despite the sops offered by various builders in the form of 20:80 schemes (Schemes where one pays 20% now and 80% after a certain level of construction is complete), free cars and motor bikes, slashed rates, the market appears to be still bleak to the buyer.  Lower rates of interests can make sense only if the capital cost were lower making EMIs affordable.

• The already inflated rates, cannot seem attractive however many sops are offered. Far flung suburbs with no less than 2 hours of commute from the city at present, try and entice buyers with the promise of new infrastructure projects which are likely to get completed soon (they mean the ones, which have been barely mentioned by MMRDA, and not even the approvals processes are complete). 

• If you are unmindful of the commute, just look around the city of Mumbai. Broken roads and pavements, garbage dumps galore, slums right outside the building, illegal encroachments, improper entry roads to buildings, and a complete lack of parking and horrible traffic wherever you go. For this kind of pathetic infrastructure, the city of Mumbai is rather too pricey than any other in the world. 

• After the recent building collapse in the Mumbra region, municipal corporations have gone on a rampage bringing down other illegal buildings.  Where were they when these came up in the first place? My heart goes out to the people who were living in these buildings and have now been rendered homeless because the crafty builder built an illegal building. No less than 35 permits and approvals need to be taken at various levels to build a building. Various inspection approvals also need to be given while the building is being constructed. Several certificates, such as the Occupation certificate are given by the municipal corporation after the building is complete, and the society is formed.  The problem here is, most houses are sold, at the time they get approval to just build it (commencement certificate). How discerning then, during the ‘launch’ of the building, can a buyer indeed get?  If that be the case, no builder should be allowed to sell under construction flats.  What it really takes, is that the inspections really happen instead of being on paper, and the approvals are honestly given so that the builder builds a good quality building within all the required norms.  How can a buyer be evicted from a building where he has trustingly put in his hard earned money believing the builder has flouted no norms?

• There is another component that makes it further unpalatable for the salaried buyer that no one speaks about. It is the component of ‘black’ money that needs to be shelled out to buy a house. The ‘going rate’ in Mumbai as I understand it currently is a whopping 40-50% of cash.  This is just so that the buyer/seller evades tax or can channel the enormous cash funds that the either the corrupt or the businessmen community gathers. In earlier years, when property rates were much lower, the component of black would run into lakhs in single digits, but now with rates being a minimum of 10K per square feet in Mumbai in suburbs, no less than 30-40L has to be doled out in cash for a tiny 1-2 BHK. For a poor salaried worker, who gets money into his bank account, pays taxes dutifully (as they are deducted at source unfortunately), declares his income to the last penny, how on earth really, can he get this cash? ‘Jugaad’ as they say ‘ho jaaata hai’, spewing another level of transactions which should not be happening.   I haven’t even started talking about the difficulty in trustingly and willingly giving away lakhs of hard earned money in cash to some stranger! This makes it further impossible to zero in on that dream home that can be bought in full ‘white’ money without any law-breaking

• As a buyer, even as I understand there is a lack of affordable housing in the city, I do get irked that the shanties across the building get free houses in the same vicinity while buyers shell out crores of Rupees for them.  And of course, they continue to live in the shanties after renting them/selling them out to new dwellers. Even as slum rehabilitation projects come up, more and more shanties continue to proliferate.  And most of them continue to be progressively legalized when elections are around. They require no permissions to get legalized really. 

Forgive me for making the clichéd comment, but the system truly needs to be completely overhauled from the root, uprooting the builder-politician-municipal corporation nexus, and a political will to bring the housing issue under some form of control.  A few things that I think need radical change are –

• Reduce the number of permissions builders need to take that increase costs in the form of bribes to be doled out and ensure that buildings are really inspected and anomalies reported. Bring about transparency in dealings.
• 50% of Mumbai is landlocked in slums. Encourage slum rehab projects by easing regulations to help to release this space. And please stop any further illegal encroachment of scarce land!
• Increase FSI so cities can grow vertically and there is more space
• Reduce taxes such as stamp duty which further push up costs and encourage cash transaction deals. If prices stop going up, profiteering will reduce – speculative buying by investors will reduce and tax on income made will automatically reduce discouraging fraudulent dealings.
• Find ways to curb dealings in black money so a whole segment of speculative buyers who try to channel their ill-gotten wealth can get eliminated pushing up supply of houses to legitimate buyers.

Till any such major changes are made, buyers and house owners will continue to suffer from over priced housing, buildings of suspect quality, and helplessness because of a complete lack of options that guarantee good quality at a decent price. And I will continue to hope that speculations stating there will be a major correction in this market will come true!

Book Review - Chanakya’s new manifesto – To resolve the crisis within India - by Pavan K. Varma

Living room conversations revolve around politics, the state of decrepitude, ineptitude of politicians, and the general issues that assail our day-today life outside the confines of our homes and beset our country at large.

Pavan K. Varma, the author, has gone a few steps ahead of these idle conversations. In this book, he has pointed out key problems and provided meaningful solutions inspired from none other than Chanakya, one of our finest strategists to date.

The book starts with an introduction to Chanakya’s way of thinking going on to the crisis that currently prevails in India and finally detailing concerns and potential solutions for each area.  Whole books can be written of course, on each the mammoth issues that inundate Indian administration, but the author has tried to condense them and provide high-level suggestions that can ‘initiate an urgent and intense nationwide debate on change’.

The state of affairs have been highlighted for five areas in the book

• Governance
• Democracy
• Corruption
• Security
• The creation of an inclusive society

The book does not really talk about a lot of things we may not already realize, but brings things to perspective when all the issues and solutions are put together.

Each area first talks about key issues and then brings some potential solutions to the table based on theories from the Arthshastra, the great Indian treatise on statecraft. 

In Governance key focus areas are lack of economic reform, education, agriculture, infrastructure projects, railways and inflation. Several good suggestions are made such as having a lock-in period for coalition parties so no one can withdraw support and create instability, set up an independent evaluation body for governance, strengthen the president’s role in protecting jurisdiction and authority from interfering bodies.

Democracy was a particularly interesting topic that spoke about the criminalization of politics, the entrenchment of black money in our system and acceptance of dynastic politics. Excellent suggestions have been made in making the political parties more accountable for the finances they own by strengthening certain laws, having more stringent checks in the screening process for nominations for elections and measures to discourage political parties from fielding candidates with criminal backgrounds.

For the most widely talked about topic in India, - Corruption, the author has several suggestions. He suggests combating corruption using financial accountability of political parties, using technology, bringing in transparency in dealings and judicial reform for deterrent action.

Security articulated the importance of an effective foreign policy, defense preparedness and an intelligence gathering mechanism. The inclusive society topic brought to light the dark side of the uncaring and indifferent India that cannot be called progressive unless it includes everybody.

All in all, I must say for a lay person who has a rudimentary understanding of the Indian milieu, this was simple enough reading and much less taxing than I had imagined it to be. The issues were bang-on and are of prime importance for the progress of India.  Not being an expert on any of the topics, I can’t say if the solutions were perfect, but like the author has said, they may not be the best but could be worthy of being considered for a debate.  I can’t say what this book will really achieve either – if it will spark off any real interest in the powers that rule us, or will merely make a few readers blink at the atrocious state of affairs in some areas and grumble a little more or optimistically, bring about some real change by some genuinely concerned citizens/politicians.

The only grouse I had in the book was the fact that, although the areas were broadly structured into five, the subdivision of the topics in those areas would have made for easier reading instead of merely bulleting the solutions.  All it needed was some more headings subtopics for an easier flow.

The language used in the book is excellent and I have no complaints there.

I will highly recommend this book to people interested in politics and the governance of this country. For those who are not particularly deeply interested in politics, but have some interest in reading newspapers might find this book a good read too.

My verdict is 4/5 stars for this non-fiction book.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!

About the Author

Pavan K. Varma studied history at St Stephen's College, Delhi, and took a degree in law from Delhi University. He has been press secretary to the president of India, official spokesman of the Foreign Office, director general of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and India's ambassador to Bhutan. Having taken premature retirement from the Indian Foreign Service, he now seeks to be actively involved in public life.

Pavan K. Varma has authored several acclaimed and bestselling books, among them, Ghalib: The Man, The Times; Krishna: The Playful Divine; The Great Indian Middle Class; Being Indian: The truth about why the 21st century will be India's; Becoming Indian: The Unfinished Revolution of Culture and Identity and When Loss is Gain. He has also translated into English the poetry of Gulzar, Kaifi Azmi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Book Review - RIP by Mukul Deva

Multi-crore rupee scams and scandals have caused much havoc in India. Anti-corruption movements have gained ground in the recent past and the nation is seething with anger at the blatant misuse of their hard-earned money.  In light of the public sentiment, Mukul Deva has penned a page turning thriller which has a deceptively simple idea – death penalty for the corrupt.  This book can strike a chord with many a young Indian and I wish, really wish, strike some fear into the hearts of the wicked who rule us.

‘This book was born out of an extreme sense of anger and shame. Anger at the appalling, naked greed so shamelessly displayed by the Indian political class. And shame that they happen to be fellow-Indians.’ – Very well said Mr Deva.   Common Indians feel your anger and shame.

Plot

The K-team or the R.I.P –the Resurgent Indian Patriots is introduced in the first chapter where they are about to carry out a deadly assassination of a powerful politician embroiled in several scams.  The K-team, an outfit of a handful of handpicked men from the military forces led by Colonel Athawale, is out to send out a strong message – Stop messing around with public funds or die. Amidst tight security, they carry out the assassination, and send out their warning through media channels leading to shock waves through the country.  Not only do they do this, but also give away hints on their next strikes. With such powerful targets, it is but natural, that the K-team is the target of many. Equally wily forces are hired in addition to the official investigators and the race is on to see which force finally wins.

Alongside, some side romances, involving an obviously beautiful woman, are introduced. I thought these were completely unnecessary although the necessary links were all present. Thankfully, these did not meddle with the climax of the book.

Characters

All the characters, right from the K-team were very well etched and had the trappings of the roles they played. The other characters are mostly well known and it wasn’t hard to derive parallels from real life.

Much as Mukul Deva ‘stresses’ on the fact that the book is a work of pure fiction and resemblances are coincidental and fictitious, it is amusing to note that he must have been forced to do so to be politically correct. The names have only been twisted a teeny bit from the originals although the scams that originated from them have been almost named as they are.  For the same correctness reasons and to show that the RIP outfit is secular, the members of the team include a representation from all religions. I almost thought Amar Akbar Anthony when I saw Krishna, Kashif and Kevin in the first chapter! The politicos' hired gun, Raghav Bhagat has been well sketched as the rogue ex-para commando, a ruthless man who can go to any length for the money.

For the young audience the book targets, a romantic angle has been thrown in for good measure with the character of the pretty news anchor Reena.  Although she takes up a good chunk of the book, she is like one of those Bollywood heroines, who are nice and pretty but needn’t really have been there in the world of cold, steely men with missions!

Language

The language of the book was not exemplary, but was the typical Indian conversational English and easy to understand like most new Indian authors.  There is some use of expletives.

My view

Overall I enjoyed the book for the topic and the a-la Rang de Basanti storyline. I don’t think I would exhort this kind of justice, but like the author said, I wouldn’t shed a tear of sympathy if any of these corrupt politicians are done away with.  I would rate this book a 4/5 for the entertainment value and for the fleeting pleasure it gave me in thinking of a corruption free country.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!

About the Author

An alumnus of La Martiniere College, Lucknow, the National Defence Academy, Pune and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Mukul Deva was commissioned in December 1981 into the Sikh Light Infantry of the Indian Army. He took early retirement from the army after fifteen years of service, including a decade of combat operations in India and overseas. Now settled in Singapore, he is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and an executive, business and creativity coach. He is also a Mentor on the United Nations Institute of Training and Research Afghanistan Fellowship. He is India’s leading writer of military thrillers, including the bestselling Lashkar series.