Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Crime & Punishment
Crime
& Punishment
About 3 decades ago I wrote an article
under the title “Illusion & Reality” and the first paragraph of the article
is reproduced below:
“The crime
prevention, detection, prosecution and conviction process in India is abysmally
slow. This coupled with half hearted approaches of the law enforcement
authorities and innumerable loopholes in the legal system ensures that only a
negligible percentage of the accused are convicted. It is paradoxical that in a
country having the largest number of laws, degree of lawlessness is also the
highest. According to agency reports only six percent of the accused are
convicted in India
During that period
many people expressed surprise to the fact that only 1 out of 16 accused are
convicted. We have made phenomenal
progress during the last 3 decades and rate of growth is spectacular. According
to latest figures released by the Delhi Police, during this year up to
September (9 months) only one person has been convicted out of 7124 FIRs
registered for crime against women. There may be several cases where cases have
not been reported and many more cases where FIRS have not been filed. National
capital is expected to be a role model and trend setter for others to emulate. If
this is the state of affairs of the National capital, what will be the
situation in other parts of the country, especially those afflicted by poverty
and illiteracy is beyond imagination. This shows the virtual lawlessness and
anarchy prevailing in the country. When
there is no punishment for crime, crime rate is bound to increase. Fear of punishment
which is a deterrent for a potential criminal has almost evaporated. Adding
insult to injury, all mighty and powerful and human rights organizations fight
for criminals and nobody seems to be worried about the helpless and hapless
victims.
Majority of crimes
against women takes place within the confines of the homes and only 3.5 % of
such offences are committed by strangers. Despite the fact that the identity of
the criminals is known, such pathetic conviction rate shows the “efficiency” of
the law enforcement authorities. For all
these evils, we conveniently blame the system, as if the system was designed,
developed and supplied by the God. Unless something is drastically done to ameliorate
the situation, we will become a land of criminals. The day may not be far off
when we substitute the word criminal with citizen like “we the criminals of
India….”
If the crime
situation continue to make alarming progress like this, even GOD may not be
able to save this country.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Food Festival
Food Festival
E M Adithyan
Food is the weakness of the people of all ages. Health and happiness to a large extent depends on the quality of food. Moreover, food is perhaps the only item people above BPL can satisfy. Even billionaires will not be able to satisfy their passion for other items including clothes.
We make tall claims from terrace tops about our improvement in quality. However, we either ignore or are blissfully ignorant about a fundamental fact. ie; quality should begin from Kitchen. (Food) If quality food is served, other qualities like quality of work, quality of service, quality of product, quality of work culture, quality of life etc will automatically follow suit
It is proposed to conduct food festivals starting with state food festivals of each state in all other states culminating with Indian Food Festival at different parts of the globe. To begin with Kerala food festival will be held at all the other state capitals. In the event of popular demand from public, food festival can be conducted at other places of the state as well. Requests for conducting festivals at other places may be forwarded to the Central organising committee through the co-ordinators of the respective states committees.
Highlights:
1 The best of cuisine of the state will be arranged
2 Many of the items in the festival will not be available in Hotels because either it is uneconomical or/and the production process is cumbersome/time consuming
3 To the extent possible natural cereals and vegetables produced without using organic chemicals and pesticides will be used
4 Traditional utencils like Kalchatti ( Utensil carved out of Stone/rock),Charakku (Bronze vessel) ,Pathi (Wooden vessel used for mixing),Kathan chembu (Copper vessel), uruli (Bronze vessel mainly used for frying), Paya (Mat made of grass/leaves) Marakkayil (Wooden serving spoon), Cheena Bharani (China clay utencil) etc will be used
5 Cooking will be done in traditional way with bare minimum use of mechanical and electrical appliances
7 Food will be served in Vazhayila (plantain leaves) instead of plates
6 Traditional beverages like cocunut water, Jal Jeera, Lassi, Butter Milk (the name is a misnomer. It contains neither butter nor milk), Chukku Vellam (Dry Ginger water), Jeeraka Vellam (Jeera hot water), Chukku Kappi (Herbal coffee), Rasam etc will be served. Cold drinks (Nay, cooled drinks) like Pepsi, coca cola etc will not be served.
Objectives
1 To promote regional, national and international integration
2 To develop friendship and fraternity among people of different castes, creed, region, religion and language
3 Create awareness about our rich and varied food
4 To explore the possibility of creating new food items by judicious mixing of items/ingredients from various regions
5 To promote research, innovation and invention in cooking technology
6 To create great cooks (Crooks please excuse. We are already having great crooks)
7 To discourage the use of junk food, fast food and superfast food.
8 To promote health, happiness, productivity, profitability etc through good food culture
9 To use Food Festival as an effective tool for National and International understanding
10 To promote National and International Tourism
11 Food for thought. Better food better thoughts
12 Encourage use of food with medical value to improve immunity and reduce use of slow poison (Allopathic Medicines)
13 Enhance capacity of body and mind by judicious mix of various items. (Eg:Using Spectacles/lens is not the panacea for weak vision. Remedy lies in improving the eye sight or at least prevent it from further deterioration. This is possible by intake of some special food items)
Ayurveda elaborately explains medicinal value of various food items. For more details, please read Ashtanha Hridayam, Ashtanga Samgraham Charaka Samhita, Susruta Samhita etc. For better understanding learn Sanskrit, our Grand Mother tongue
14 To achieve the ultimate objective of making this world a much etter place to live in.
Applications are invited from general public for inclusion in the organising committee Criteria for selection as committee members is as follows.
1. Members will be admitted after proper screening only
2. Admission will be based on the recommendation of Screening Committee
3. Persons having knowledge/interest in cooking will be given preference
4. Members should have pride in Indian culture, civilization and Indian food
5. Sycophants, flatters, leg pullers, back baiters, liars, puppets and people with crab mentality, ego etc will be automatically disqualified from membership
They will be required to travel extensively by all means of transport ie; Bicycle, Moped, Scooter, Bike, Rickshaw, Auto Rickshaw, Car, Tempo, Bus, Train, Helicopter, Plane, Boat, ship etc except by post
Committee members will have a rare opportunity to meet and interact with celebrities from all walks of life. Organisers guarantee that (No Bank Guarantee will be given) not a single category of people will fail to visit the festival.
Festival will be a real mouth opener (not applicable to those whose mouths are always open) to all those who enjoy tasty and nutritious food.
Organisers are expecting unprecedented rush for the food festivals. In view of this admission will be restricted to invitees/pass holders only during the first three days of the festival. Food fans can do advance booking from 4 am to 8 am and 5pm to 9 pm to avoid disappointment. If anybody misses the chance they can visit other state capitals
Subsequent to the successful completion of one round of food festival, even the staunchest supporters of subversive, suffocating, self deceptive, self defeating, scandalous, surreptitious, scurrilous, sulky, sullen and sacrilegious slogans like "Sons of the Soil" will slowly and steadily submerge into more subtle and sober slogans like "Sons of the other soil"
After the conclusion of the state Food Festivals, Indian Food Festival will be held at different parts of the globe. An Indian Food festival can be organised at least for a month without repeating a single item.
Can any other country in the world boast of such a incredible feat?
Be a proud Indian
Food Festival
Food Festival
E M Adithyan
Food is the weakness of the people of all ages. Health and happiness to a large extent depends on the quality of food. Moreover, food is perhaps the only item people above BPL can satisfy. Even billionaires will not be able to satisfy their passion for other items including clothes.
We make tall claims from terrace tops about our improvement in quality. However, we either ignore or are blissfully ignorant about a fundamental fact. ie; quality should begin from Kitchen. (Food) If quality food is served, other qualities like quality of work, quality of service, quality of product, quality of work culture, quality of life etc will automatically follow suit
It is proposed to conduct food festivals starting with state food festivals of each state in all other states culminating with Indian Food Festival at different parts of the globe. To begin with Kerala food festival will be held at all the other state capitals. In the event of popular demand from public, food festival can be conducted at other places of the state as well. Requests for conducting festivals at other places may be forwarded to the Central organising committee through the co-ordinators of the respective states committees.
Highlights:
1 The best of cuisine of the state will be arranged
2 Many of the items in the festival will not be available in Hotels because either it is uneconomical or/and the production process is cumbersome/time consuming
3 To the extent possible natural cereals and vegetables produced without using organic chemicals and pesticides will be used
4 Traditional utencils like Kalchatti ( Utensil carved out of Stone/rock),Charakku (Bronze vessel) ,Pathi (Wooden vessel used for mixing),Kathan chembu (Copper vessel), uruli (Bronze vessel mainly used for frying), Paya (Mat made of grass/leaves) Marakkayil (Wooden serving spoon), Cheena Bharani (China clay utencil) etc will be used
5 Cooking will be done in traditional way with bare minimum use of mechanical and electrical appliances
7 Food will be served in Vazhayila (plantain leaves) instead of plates
6 Traditional beverages like cocunut water, Jal Jeera, Lassi, Butter Milk (the name is a misnomer. It contains neither butter nor milk), Chukku Vellam (Dry Ginger water), Jeeraka Vellam (Jeera hot water), Chukku Kappi (Herbal coffee), Rasam etc will be served. Cold drinks (Nay, cooled drinks) like Pepsi, coca cola etc will not be served.
Objectives
1 To promote regional, national and international integration
2 To develop friendship and fraternity among people of different castes, creed, region, religion and language
3 Create awareness about our rich and varied food
4 To explore the possibility of creating new food items by judicious mixing of items/ingredients from various regions
5 To promote research, innovation and invention in cooking technology
6 To create great cooks (Crooks please excuse. We are already having great crooks)
7 To discourage the use of junk food, fast food and superfast food.
8 To promote health, happiness, productivity, profitability etc through good food culture
9 To use Food Festival as an effective tool for National and International understanding
10 To promote National and International Tourism
11 Food for thought. Better food better thoughts
12 Encourage use of food with medical value to improve immunity and reduce use of slow poison (Allopathic Medicines)
13 Enhance capacity of body and mind by judicious mix of various items. (Eg:Using Spectacles/lens is not the panacea for weak vision. Remedy lies in improving the eye sight or at least prevent it from further deterioration. This is possible by intake of some special food items)
Ayurveda elaborately explains medicinal value of various food items. For more details, please read Ashtanha Hridayam, Ashtanga Samgraham Charaka Samhita, Susruta Samhita etc. For better understanding learn Sanskrit, our Grand Mother tongue
14 To achieve the ultimate objective of making this world a much etter place to live in.
Applications are invited from general public for inclusion in the organising committee Criteria for selection as committee members is as follows.
1. Members will be admitted after proper screening only
2. Admission will be based on the recommendation of Screening Committee
3. Persons having knowledge/interest in cooking will be given preference
4. Members should have pride in Indian culture, civilization and Indian food
5. Sycophants, flatters, leg pullers, back baiters, liars, puppets and people with crab mentality, ego etc will be automatically disqualified from membership
They will be required to travel extensively by all means of transport ie; Bicycle, Moped, Scooter, Bike, Rickshaw, Auto Rickshaw, Car, Tempo, Bus, Train, Helicopter, Plane, Boat, ship etc except by post
Committee members will have a rare opportunity to meet and interact with celebrities from all walks of life. Organisers guarantee that (No Bank Guarantee will be given) not a single category of people will fail to visit the festival.
Festival will be a real mouth opener (not applicable to those whose mouths are always open) to all those who enjoy tasty and nutritious food.
Organisers are expecting unprecedented rush for the food festivals. In view of this admission will be restricted to invitees/pass holders only during the first three days of the festival. Food fans can do advance booking from 4 am to 8 am and 5pm to 9 pm to avoid disappointment. If anybody misses the chance they can visit other state capitals
Subsequent to the successful completion of one round of food festival, even the staunchest supporters of subversive, suffocating, self deceptive, self defeating, scandalous, surreptitious, scurrilous, sulky, sullen and sacrilegious slogans like "Sons of the Soil" will slowly and steadily submerge into more subtle and sober slogans like "Sons of the other soil"
After the conclusion of the state Food Festivals, Indian Food Festival will be held at different parts of the globe. An Indian Food festival can be organised at least for a month without repeating a single item.
Can any other country in the world boast of such a incredible feat?
Be a proud Indian
NAFED
Nafed
I joined a big company (Big
by name only) during May 1974. It took me 2-3 days, to memorize the name. The first day of joining, when I was returning
from office, I met a friend on the way. He heard from someone that I left my
previous job and joined a new organization. He asked me as to where I have
joined. I asked him to wait for a while and opened the Dairy and read the name
“National Agricultural Co operative Marketing Federation of India Ltd”
popularly known as NAFED. My office was at Sapna building and I was staying at
Sriniwaspuri which is roughly 700 meters from the office. I used to start
around 9.45 and during summer it looks like noon time.
I was posted in Marketing
Department and my boss was Mr. Sanyal a man of around 55 years old. At that
time his assistant was one Mr. Gulati who was both mentally and physically
sick. Almost daily, Mr. Sanyal used to get firing from his boss as neither he
was able to get work from his subordinate nor was he able to do it himself. Mr. Sanyal was also upset with the tragic death of his teenage son
(Only son) few months ago. Few days after my joining the scenario were changed.
Firing totally stopped because there was no work related complaint. When his
boss calls him, he asked me also to come along with him. While the boss asks
questions/clarifications to Mr. Sanyal, he directs me to give replies. Subsequently, Mr. Sanyal’s boss stopped
calling him and instead used to call me directly. Mr. Sanyal was very fond of
me and he used to bring Bengali sweets and other delicacies for me from home. I
used to cut jokes, create instant jokes during conversation and used to keep
him in good humour.
Working atmosphere at Nafed
was excellent. It was like a family ambiance. Though I was posted in marketing
department, I used to have lunch with my finance colleagues. The Finance Head,
FA & CAO along with all other staff used to take lunch together, an unusual
scene. Once my top boss fired me for a strange reason. I was in dire need of
money and I asked some colleagues but they were not in a position to help me.
When my super boss came to know about this, he scolded me and asked me as why I
did not tell him and said “what for I am here, if I am not able help you in
dire need?” Once when I was on leave for
2 days, due to sickness he sent an employee to enquire about my welfare.
I had decided to leave Nafed
primarily because I was interviewed for the post of Accounts Assistant but was offered
the post of accounts clerk though my rank was very high in test and interview
and another candidate with higher qualification but lesser rank was given the
post of Accounts Assistant. Logically, when test and interview is conducted for
a post, overall rank is the main consideration and higher qualification should
not be of any consequence. Secondly I was posted in Marketing Department and I
thought that it will jeopardize my career.
At the time I left Nafed,
Mr. Sanyal was on leave as he had gone to Calcutta. When he came to office
after the leave he was carrying items on both hands. He reached office at about
10.30 AM and immediately asked “Where is Adithyan?” Somebody told him that I
left Nafed. He was in a shock and
whatever items he was holding fell on the floor. For a while he stood like a statue with tears
rolling down his eyes. When I heard this story, I thought of visiting Nafed to meet
him. After about 10-15 days, I took a day’s
leave (It was very difficult to reach BEL by public transport) to visit Nafed,
but before that he had taken voluntary retirement and left for his home
town.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Manorama Dated 23.9.15
Writing
and Running. Adithyan Excels in both
Edapal:- Adithyan is going ahead in writing and running
without looking back. Adithyan who hails
from Elangalloor Mana Edapal Thuyyam and a resident of Delhi is reaping
achievements in both. While moving ahead
with a variety of writings, Adithyan is making his presence felt in sports
world also. In the recently concluded Airtel Hyderabad half Marathon, he
secured second position in the super veteran category by completing 21.097 KM
in 2 hours 28 minutes at the age of 65.
Retired as Finance Manager
from Bharat Electronics Ltd Mumbai 5 years ago, (It is wrongly written. It
should be BEL Ghaziabad) he is in the forefront of raising social issues
whether at the local level or at the Prime Minister’s level. He is having a
collection of letters from a galaxy of eminent personalities including Dr.
Manmohan Singh Prime Minister, Sepp Blatter President FIFA etc. However, he
cannot be treated as a mere letter writer. His write ups have appeared in
several leading publications of India in 8 languages including English, Hindi
and Malayalam.
About 4 decades ago he
reached Delhi in search of job. His first letter appeared in The Hindustan
Times in the year 1973 about removing the time period for railway reservation. His
writings include a variety of topics like social issues, criticism, sports,
culture, science & technology, current affairs, humorous write ups, satire
etc which has appeared in leading English News papers and other language
papers. Writing letters to people who
have excelled in various fields is a passion for Adithyan. Barring few
exceptions, he got replies from all celebrities. He is preserving these letters
as a great treasure.
Basically a lover of all
sports, Adithyan got interest in Half Marathon and began practicing for that.
He made his debut by participating in the Auroville Half Marathon at
Pondicherry during February 2014. Subsequently he participated in Hyderabad and
other marathons. He is currently preparing for the forthcoming marathons. His
wife is Anitha and two daughters are Anupama and Ambily.
Running on the Road
Running
on Road
On 2nd October I
went to Poorv Delhi Khel Parisar for a trial run. It was closed on that day due to Gandhi
Jayanthi. At the time when I reached
there, I was the only “out” standing person at the gate. Since the Security Guard is my friend and
fan, I thought that he will allow the runners and walkers in as is being done
on Monday, the weekly holiday. In the
meantime two more members came. Security
Guard informed us that they were having strict instructions not to allow entry
of anyone. However, they allowed me to keep my carry bag inside and I put the
water bottle containing energy drinks inside the Iron Gate so that I can take
it from outside whenever I required. I started sunning on the main road
connecting GTB hospital to Tahirpur. It is a wide straight road. Running on the
straight road has a psychological advantage because since the road is visible
for a long distance, you will feel that the destination is near, though it is
far. I did nonstop run of 12 KM (except drink break).
Due to a weekly bazaar on
the previous day, the road was dirty and filthy as waste items were strewn all around.
We Indians are masters in polluting and making dirty of public places, whether
it is roads, rivers, lakes, parks or any other public place. They lack the
courtesy and civic sense to keep a bag or container to put the waste and even
in places where dust bins are provided, many people including the educated
people throw the waste hay-wire. When a
park is rented out for marriage or some other function, next day it will be
difficult to walk on the footpath as food particles were being thrown all
around. It requires some special skill to make it so dirty as even animals will
have better civic sense. The same peoples becomes civilized, law abiding,
obedient, disciplined etc when they visit a foreign soil because there the
punishment is heavy. It is a pity that majority
of the people will be disciplined under pressure or fear only. DMRC is able to
maintain cleanliness and they are able to maintain a separate culture since
beginning because of constant counseling and also due tom the fact that penalty
is heavy. What is the difference between an illiterate person and an educated
person so far as the civilization is concerned when both will do or undo something
only under pressure or fear only? Unfortunately, our education system failed to
inculcate couture, ethics, manners, civic sense, honesty, integrity, morality
etc and its primary duty is to produce money making machine only. .
Government spends crores of
rupees on cleaning of rivers and other public places. Half of the amount can be
saved, if people show little civic sense. Heavy penalty should be imposed from
those who pollute public places so that this amount should be sufficient to do
the cleaning operation. But the million (or billion) dollar question is who
will bell the cat. Let us not try to be on the top of the world only on
negative aspects like Road accidents,
robbery, dacoity, murder, gang rape, scams, scandals, pollution, adulteration and last but not
least corruption.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Salad Ramachandran
I stayed in Sriniwaspuri a South Delhi
Government colony for 10 years from 1974 to 1984. We had a friend called
Ramachandran who was staying about 100 meters away. Unlike many other
bachelors’ rooms, Ramachandran’s room was always neat and clean. Rooms of many
bachelors look like a big astray with hundreds of cigarette buds strewn around.
Ramachandran was a non drinker and non
smoker and a very polished person with always smiling face and pleasant look. Every
item in the room is kept neat and tidy. Many people could not believe that it
is a bachelor’s room. His door always remains open and friends can freely enter
his room. He treats friends and guests very well with coffee/tea and snacks. Once
when I went to his room, I found the charpoy (Cot made of bamboo stick and
coir) dancing. Anybody who believes in ghosts, devils etc (During old days, people
used to see Devils in dreams only. However, in these days you can see devils
everywhere. In some places devils are in majority. This is a classical example
of the popular perception that dreams will become reality one day. Hence friends are requested not to stop
dreaming as your dreams will become reality sooner or later. Whether you want
to see good dreams or bad dreams is up to you). would have got frightened. When
I looked closely, Ramachandran was dusting under the cot with wet cloth. On another
occasion, we found two bed sheets neatly packed and kept on the bed. When one
of the friends asked him as to whether he washed it himself or got it dry-cleaned,
he replied that he has kept them outside for cleaning. That was the height of
his cleaning sense.
He was good in cooking and
expert in making salads. People may be wondering as to what expertise is
required to prepare salad. This has to be experienced and cannot be explained.
Some people when they prepare something will have special taste and the reason
can neither be explained nor proved scientifically. (Rationalists may or may
not believe it, but if they experience it, they will definitely believe it, at
least privately). I lost in touch with him more than 3 decades
ago. He hails from vavanur near Kootanad, Palakkad district Kerala. I shall be
grateful, if somebody can help me to me in touch with him. He will be around
63-65 now
Spoilers of Sports
Spoilers
of Sports
Last National Games were
held in Kerala at different venues. For conducting the game a new Greenfield stadium was
constructed at Karyavattom near Trivandrum with a capacity of 50000 spectators
spending Rs 240 crores. The stadium was made in such a way that both cricket
and soccer can be played there. After creating lot of infrastructural
facilities most of them remain underutilized for a long time and spending huge
amount on maintenance. There was an
opportunity to stage an international soccer match in this new stadium. The
world cup qualifying match between Guam and India was supposed to play at this
stadium. However, the proposal was indirectly scuttled and strangulated by the
stadium authorities by demanding an exorbitant rent of Rs 34 lacs for one day. The
magnitude of this inflated rent can be gauged from the fact that daily rent of
Salt Lake Stadium Kolkata which is having a higher capacity is Rs 8 Lacs only
and rent of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Kochi which is having similar capacity is
Rs 5 lacs. It appears that the stadium authorities wanted to indirectly deny
the facility to host the match.
The stadium was built on the
land allotted by the Government of Kerala at a nominal cost. Hence they are
duty bound to give the stadium for national sports activities. However, who
will enforce discipline on these “Sports lovers” who built such gigantic
stadiums for the development of sports in the country is a million dollar
question. In this connection I quote from a letter I wrote to the Prime
Minister few days ago
“Government spends crores of rupees in the name of sports, repeat in
the name of sports, but only negligible percentage reaches the sports persons.
No wonder we return from international sports meets with peanuts and become a
laughing stock in the eyes of the world.”
Some people and
organizations are having such negative mentality that whether they get some
benefit or not, they will ensure that others should not be benefited by their action
or inaction even inadvertently. This type of negative attitude coupled with crab
mentality is largely responsible for retarding the progress of our country in
many fields.
Let the God save God’s own
country and our own country.
Skeleton staff
Skelton
Staff
During my early period in
BEL, late Shri B Ramachandra Rao was my boss for a long time. Initially I was
posted in Audit and he was the Head of Audit Department. I heard that in those
days, posting of an employee was influenced by his/her name also, like
Kashmirilal in Cash Section, Adithyan in Audit etc. During those days, there was both pre audit
and post audit. Important financial proposals, payments beyond some limits,
final payment of contractors’ bill etc were done only after concurrence from
Audit. Now a day’s audit is confined to post audit only. Many auditors will sit on the fence, watch all
the wrong doings and will subsequently come out with big audit reports. Some
auditors are of opinion that they should at least raise one question, even if
the proposal is in order. In one Purchase proposal for purchase of shoes as a
part of uniform, one auditor has raised a question “if 8” shoes and 9” shoes
are available at the same rates, why should we go for 8” shoes?” There are
several definitions for audit but one definition given by a BEL employee is
“Audit is a necessary nuisance”.
Shri Ramachandra Rao was
having full faith and confidence on me. He unofficially used to seek my opinion
on various matters. He used to ask me to examine the draft letters and very
often he used to tell his PA “Show to Adithyan”. During those days there were 4 Sr.
Accountants in Audit Department. Mr.
Sablok (It is the name of a person and not all people), Mr. Malhotra, Mr.
Unnikrishnan and myself. The former two were 90+ (weight, and not age) and latter
two were 60-. During that period Mr. Malhotra
changed from B to C i.e.; he left BEL and joined CEL, another public sector
undertaking and Mr. Sablok was ‘temporarily” transferred to Regional Office New
Delhi. (Mr. Sablok retired from Regional
Office after serving about 35 years there)
Our workload increased tremendously.
If it was only post mortem (post audit) we could have avoided doing something, but
pre audit cannot be avoided, and since Audit is the final clearance authority,
their responsibility was tremendous. One
day Shri. Rao called me and asked me to go through a draft proposal. The
proposal was about posting additional staff to Internal Audit Department. The
note went like this “Audit is working with skeleton staff at the supervisory
level…..” After some time I went to his cabin. He asked my comments about the
proposal. I told him. “Sir, what you have written is hundred percent literally correct.
If Sablok and Malhotra were there, perhaps you would not have made such a
note”. He could not resist the temptation of laughing.
Fish as Friend
Fish
as a friend
There is a small temple of
Lord Ayyappa in our house compound along with other Gods like Ganapati (Lord
Ganesh) and Dakshinamurthy (Lord Siva). During my school days, I used to do
Pooja at this temple. After the Pooja, I go to the nearby pond to wash the utensils.
One big fish along with several tiny fishes comes to eat the rice particles in
the utensils and on my hand. When this continued for few days, I used to give
all the Nivedyam (Items offered to God during Pooja) whether it is rice or
Payasam (Sweet dish) to the fish for eating. Gradually the big fish became my
friend. I used to touch him, pamper him and cajole him. When I show the food items from above the
water level, it jumps and picks it. It was an unusual spectacle as 99% Keralites are non vegetarians, mostly
fish eaters and the moment the shadow of a human being is sighted, fishes
especially big ones go under the water. However, on the mere sight of my
shadow, it comes above the water level. Though it had two trunks, it never used
it against me. It stands silently when I touch its body and it appeared that
the fish enjoyed my love, affection and care.
I believe that there is no
barrier for friendship. However, many people are under the illusion that they
should make friendship with people of same status only. They will befriend with
only those people who are of their standard, who occupies similar houses, who
hold similar positions, who earns similar salary, who owns similar car, who
belong to the same sect etc. Even though they may have friends in other
categories just to show off, their friendship may not be sincere. They are
nothing but narrow minded and immature people who think that they live in ivory
towers. These people are constantly under stress, strain and tension as they
are worried about their material things and their personal relation often
converts into commercial relation. There are some materialistic people who even
give loan to their parents by charging interest. As a token of ‘love and
respect’ to their parents and mark of generosity, the interest rate charged by
them will be slightly lower than the rate charged from others. When will these
people make real friends cutting across all barriers is a million dollar
question.
Having friendship and
interaction with wide range of people, will increase information base,
knowledge and wisdom of both. Our late President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a
classic example of this. Many artists who performed at Rashtrapati Bhavan told
me that he attends the programme with rapt attention. Unlike many other
Rashtrapatis, he talks to the artists and try to understand the intricacies and
nuances of the art and musical instruments.
No wonder he was a walking encyclopedia. Other categories of people who
are reluctant to mingle with people will remain like a frog in the well.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Auto/Taxi Charges
Auto/Taxi
Charges
Barring few exceptions, most
of the Auto/Taxi drivers overcharge the commuters. If you argue with them, many
of them will misbehave also. However, most of them avoid quarrelling with rough
and tough people, and such people will not be overcharged also. Concerned with
this problem, I devised a method.
Whenever I travel, I used to carry formats both in English and Hindi and
will politely ask the driver to fill up it and sign. Alternatively, I suggest
that I will fill up the form and he has to mention the amount and put his
signature. The form contains details like date, time, from, to, distance
covered and fare etc in addition to vehicle particulars like registration
number, name of driver, badge number of the driver etc. A person who
overcharges, never give these particulars in writing. Once an auto driver who
demanded a hefty sum asked me as to why I want this form to be filled up. I
told him that I have to submit this in the office to claim reimbursement. To
his question as to which office I am working, I told a lie “I am working in
CBI”. He asked “CBI kya hota hai?” (What is CBI?) I told him “CBI Policewalom
ka baap hota hai”. (CBI is much higher than police.) When I told this he came
down and told me “Aap Jo marji dena chahte to dedo”. (Give whatever you want).
However, I never misused such situation and paid less than normal.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Winner without Medal
Winner
without Medal
On 19th September
O P Jaisha sent me an SMS informing that she came first in the 10000 meters
race clocking a time of 33:03 (Thirty three minutes and three seconds) at the National
Open Athletic Meet being held at Kolkata. Incidentally this is an improvement over
her own record, created at the last National Games by more than 5 seconds. Next
day when I searched the news paper, there was no news on the subject including
in the Malayalam news papers. I checked
back with Jaisha who told me that she was not registered for the 10000 meters
race and on request she was allowed to participate unofficially. In the last National Games at Trivandrum,
Jaisha gave a sterling performance and won the 10000 meters beating her nearest
rival by more than one lap (400 Meters) behind.
It is unfortunate that such a talented athlete, who created history in
winning margin, was deprived to participate officially in the 10K race. There appears to be a serious dereliction of
duty on the part of the concerned authorities in this goof up. It is regrettable that our talented top class
athletes are treated in this cavalier manner. Let us hope that such gross
irregularities will not happen in future.
National Open Athletic Championship
National
Open Athletic Championship
O P Jaisha again created
history by beating the meet record of Preeja Sreedharan in 5000 meters race in
the National Open Athletic Meet being held at Kolkata. Just two weeks ago she participated in the
grueling marathon event at the world athletic championship at Beijing and beat
her own record. She came in the top twenty where 74 world class athletics
participated and also qualified for the Olympics. Her compatriot Lalita Babar gave a hot pursuit
till half way stage and if Lalita would have given a tough competition, Jaisha
could have further improved her timings. This is her 4th record breaking
performance in the year 2015. In the month of January she broke 20 year old
marathon record held by Satyabhama, in the Standard Chartered Mumbai
Marathon. Subsequently she broke the
5000 and 10000 meters record in the national games held at Trivandrum. The exhaustive marathon training programme of
running more than one thousand kilometers per month, took a heavy toll from
her, losing 7 KG weight in the process. Weight loss may be good for fatty/bulky
people but not for a person already lean and thin. Credit for this goes to the “nutritional”
food provided to her in “adequate” quantity during the training camp. She is
confident of improving the 5000 Meters record.
Considering the fact that she competed in 5000 meters race without any
training, she is competent to improve upon her timings. She will be
participating in the Bangalore Marathon and I am sure that she will emerge
victorious. The prize money she will get
will enable her to buy few pair of shoes without draining her depleted pocket. I am planning to write her biography or help
her to write her auto biography which will unravel many stark realities
hitherto unknown to the sports world. Like
Priyanka Chopra, who became multi millionaire at the cost of Mary Kom, I will
not rob a poor girl and will give 50 % of the proceeds of the book to Jaisha
and the balance amount will also be used for the development of sports in the
country.
If an athlete can produce
scintillating performance without any training and competitive exposure, what
wonder she can create with nutritional food, proper training and adequate
international exposure is anybody’s guess. All the athletes who have qualified
for the Olympics should be provided with much needed international exposure by
allowing them to participate in various meets across the world. We have
committed the biggest blunder in the case of P T Usha by not sending her any for
international meets before the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, whereas her
competitors had participated in several meets across the globe. Still, whatever
she had achieved is purely due to her grit, will power, dedication,
determination and killer instinct. We lost a golden opportunity to win an
athletic Olympic medal in 1984. We should not repeat that blunder again.
Let us fervently hope that Jaisha and her
companions will make 2016 Rio Olympics as the most memorable Olympics for them
and the country.
Bank Fraud Case
Bank
Fraud Case
About 35 years I had a
chance to deal with a fraud case. Husband of an illiterate/semi literate lady
was working in Kuwait. Gulf boom was at its peak during those days. He used to remit money regularly through
Punjab National bank. Whenever she gets
a letter from her husband, (Phones were few and far between those days) she
used to go to bank to find out whether the remittance has come. Every time she gets a reply that the amount
has not been received. After several
visits to the bank, she will be informed that one amount has come, though by
that time 3-4 remittances should have been credited to her account. Foreign exchange was very precious in those
days. Many items were easily available
by giving payment in FE. Advance booking was prevalent for scooters (Motor
cycles were not popular at that time) and one has to wait 7-8 years to mature
his booking. Many people used to book in
the names of all members of the family thinking that if the allotment comes,
they can sell it in black market. Bank Manager
was manipulating her account by swindling the poor illiterate lady. However,
the lady was sure that something was going wrong.
Her neighbour and my colleague
brought the case to me one day. She had some correspondence with higher offices
of the bank but there was no reply.
After studying the case, I was sure that there was a big fraud. I made a strong letter in her name addressed
to The Secretary Banking, (by name) Ministry of Finance. I am fortunate that
when I fight for justice or fight against gross injustice and write letters to
high profile people, Goddess Saraswathi provides me the choicest words. I have to check the meaning of many words, but
in the ultimate analysis I found them perfectly matching.
Within 3 days of my letter,
a special messenger was sent to bank with a direction to Manager that he should
hand over the charge to the next person and proceed on leave. After 2 days, he
was placed under suspension. Within 2
weeks time she got a huge amount being the pending credits of several
remittances. Perhaps due to the fact
that case was taken up at the highest level, she got all the arrears even before
recovering the same from the accused.
My friend told her that all
these happened due to the help of his friend. She expressed a desire to meet
me. I told my friend to bring her
outside the factory. One day he brought her and I went to the reception area to
meet her. I could see the excitement,
ecstasy, happiness and gratitude etc on her partially covered face. She wanted to touch my feet but since she was
much elder to me, I did not allow that. I don’t mind if people who are 15-20
years or more younger to me touching my feet as it is a mark of respect. (There
may be people who want to pull my leg under the guise of touching my feet).It
is pathetic to see politicians allowing or encouraging people who are of their
father’s or even grandfather’s age to touch their feet. I am not a stupid politician (I am not a
politician at all) to encourage such slavery mentality.
I was happy and thrilled
that I could use the God gift (writing power) to help a poor illiterate unknown
women. The satisfaction one derives by such humble services cannot be measured
in money terms.
World War Veteran
World
War Veteran
More than 3 decades ago, I
had an opportunity to deal with the case of a world war veteran. One of my
colleagues brought the case to me. It was a 4 decade old case of an Army Jawan
who participated in the world war. He did not get pension after retirement. To
make matters worse, several portions of his service records were
damaged/destroyed during heavy rain and flash floods which devastated his
thatched house in a remote village. He had written hundreds of letters to various
authorities up to the level of Chief of Army Staff. In some replies he was asked to produce copy
of some documents which he was unable to produce. Thus the case was struck up.
After going through the
volumes of available records- mainly correspondence- I was not very hopeful primarily
due to being a very old case and secondly due to non availability of many
documents. However, the fighting spirit of the old man inspired me and I prayed
the almighty to give me sufficient strength to fight the case. Initially I
thought of approaching my friend, philosopher, mentor, motivator and Guide, the
legendary legal luminary Shri. Nani A. Palkhivala with whom I was in touch
through correspondence. But then I realized that one should approach others
only after taking recourse to all the avenues available.
I drafted a letter addressed
to the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi by name. The letter was to my full
satisfaction which was very emotional and sentimental. My colleague signed the
letter himself (fake signature for a right cause) and posted in Delhi at her
residential address. To my great
surprise, reply received within 15 days signed by Prime Minister herself with
an assurance that the case will be settled within 3 months. Another letter came
from PM’s office after 2 months intimating that pension case has been settled. Within
2 weeks time he got pension arrears and started getting regular pension from
the subsequent month.
That was one of the most
memorable and happy moments of my life. I don’t normally believe in miracles,
but what happened was next to miracle only.
I had a plan to meet the octogenarian Ex Army man who valiantly fought
for the country, during my next visit to Kerala to pay my obeisance but before
I could accomplish my dream he left for his heavenly abode.
Subrato Cup (under 15) Final
Subrato
Cup Final
Today I watched the final of
the Subroto Cup Sub-Junior Boys (Under14) tournament at Ambedkar stadium Delhi.
The match was between a Mizoram school and an Afghanistan School. I could
manage a media pass and comfortably watched the match sitting in the Press Gallery.
It was a pulsating fast paced encounter. Mizoram boys were a spirited side with
superb ball control, passing and dribbling. Except in height and stamina they
were better than their rivals. They were leading by two spectacular goals
scored by Hmar. In the second half Afghanistan reduced the margin and restored
parity through a penalty kick. In the extra time Mizoram scored one more goal
and became the champion. It is a rare occasion to watch an Indian team winning
the final. The scintillating display of Mizoram boys proves the fact that there
is abundance of soccer talent in the country and if we are able to unearth,
nurture and develop these talents, India can recapture its pre eminent position
and can become a force to reckon with at least in Asian circuit.
Legendary Brazilian
footballer Roberto Carlos was the special guest and he watched the full match.
However, the attendance in the stadium was sparse. I am eagerly waiting to see
the King of Football Pele who will grace the final of Subroto Cup Junior (Under
17) final. Last year an Indian team
played in the final against a Brazilian school team and they squandered the
lead in the final stages of the match. Let us hope that another Indian team which
may play in this year’s final will not repeat the mistakes of their predecessors
and will emerge victorious.
Internet Connection
MTNL
Internet connection
I have my internet
connection through MTNL. It is not working for more than one month. Before proceeding to Bangalore on 16th
August, I lodged a complaint. Since my problem was not redressed, I made a
reminder. After giving another reminder, I was told to lodge my complaint with
another number. When I made a complaint
in that number, I was asked to make a complaint at 1504. I dialed the number
and kept the receiver on hold for 35 minutes. After every 3 minutes, I was
getting a message that you are in the Q. Many times, when I tried to call the
office, phone continuously rings but nobody attends the call. My friend told me
that once he made a call from just in front of the office and found the concerned
person sitting coolly without attending the call. I think MTNL is diligently
following the ABCD method of working, which is as follows
A= Avoid, B= Bypass, C=
Confuse, D= Delay.
After returning from tour on
11th September, I started making frantic calls to MTNL to restore my
internet connection. My work came to a standstill without internet. Internet
cafes are few and far between these days. Moreover, you cannot work with such
homely comfort. Further money transactions like payment of bills, booking
tickets etc cannot be done at public places. One day I visited the MTNL office
at about 4 PM and there I found 2 employees sleeping and others gossiping. This
scene was worth showing at least in social media if not in the print and visual
media to inspire and motivate hardly working employees
Since there was no response
from MTNL, I lodged a complaint through email to the Divisional Engineer which has
gone into deaf ears. Subsequently, I
made an email complaint to General Manager (Trans Yamuna) followed by a
reminder on the following day. In the evening I got a call from MTNL asking
whether my connection is in order. I told that how can it be in order when
nobody visited my house and rectified the defect. Yesterday I made an email
complaint to CMD of MTNL. I feel that I am waging a war with a demon king and I
am using all the weapons in my armoury one by one. I am worried that if I use my last weapon
also, nothing will be left out. (Name of last weapon cannot be disclosed now). I
have neither a person like Lord Krishna as my Sarathi nor a battery of commanders to fight this sacred war.
It appears that MTNL has
become a synonym of inefficiency.
Sometimes back some senior person described DDA as the highest corrupt
body on the earth. What adjectives I should use for MTNL is not clear.
Telecommunication segment shown the highest rate of growth during the last 2
decades and it is still growing. MTNL and BSNL being the pioneers in the field
could have retained their pre eminent position by improving their services and by expansion,
diversification and modernization. While
other telecom companies have shown spectacular growth, MTNL and BSNL are doing
backward march. Many of the people working in MTNL cannot be considered as
employees but parasites only. However, there are few dedicated employees (They
have become an endangered species) because of whom it still survives. While
there is a visible improvement in the service of public sector banks, MTNL has
not changed its old habits.
Public sector has to play a
predominant role and they should reach commanding heights in the economy. If
all the public sector companies make a reasonable profit of 15 to 20 %, we can
reduce the taxes by more than 50% or can even abolish many taxes. However, many
of them are standing on crutches and become a burden on the exchequer. People
are expected to work more sincerely in Public Sector or Government service as
it is a service to the nation. But our patriotism and nationality feeling are
on the lowest ebb in India. Many people work only under pressure, force or
fear. They are nothing but donkeys, as many of them move with Danda only. I do not know whether I have insulted donkeys
by this statement. Unfortunately we are
having large number of highly qualified donkeys also who are not self
disciplined.
We Indians give undue
importance to qualification and utter disregard to qualities, especially in
Government sector. What is the use of a qualified person, if he/she is corrupt,
dishonest, insincere, disloyal etc? They will be a liability to the
organization. There should be some device to check these attributes if a
person. There was a great industrialist in Coimbatore called Naidu. Once he gave
an advertisement for few vacancies and it gave footnote thar persons who failed
more than 2 times in SSLC (Erstwhile higher secondary) will be given
preference. Many people jumped into the conclusion that he lost his mental
balance (He was very old). However, one journalist decided to verify the facts.
Mr. Naidu clarified that the job profile does not require higher qualification.
Even though he can get graduates or post graduates for the salary he is
offering, they will not be sincere as from next day onwards they will start
searching for other jobs. Candidates,
who failed 2 times or more in higher secondary, cannot get a better job
elsewhere. Therefore, they will be very sincere and loyal and output will be
much more than a highly qualified person.
I request my friends to
suggest as to how to get my internet connection restored. Friends are also
requested to share their experience-sweet or sour- with Mahanarak Telephone Not working Limited. (MTNL) I pray to the
almighty that such experience should not be given tom any other person. .
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