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.  

Winner without Medal

Winner without Medal

On 19^th 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 4^th 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 16^th 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 11^th 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. . 

Home Vegetables

Homely Vegetables

During my stay in Kerala, I had the unique and rare opportunity of taking food prepared with home grown vegetables free from chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and preservatives. The vegetables available in Kerala markets are imported from other states mainly from Tamil Nadu and they are highly poisonous. The quantum of pesticides used in those vegetables is many times more than the permissible limits. No wonder, the incidence of dreaded diseases are increasing at an alarming rate. My village Edapal which is having a population of about 32000 is having more medical shops and hospital beds than Dilshad Garden, the population of which may be around 3 times that of Edapal.

People of Kerala have to blame themselves for this pathetic and horrible scenario. Malayalees in Kerala are lazy and lethargic and they are very averse to manual labour. Consequently whatever land they are having remain uncultivated and barren and they prefer to buy everything from market. However, the moment they cross Kerala border, they become sincere, hard working and are also prepared to do any paltry job.

Many people lament that cultivation is not economical. Labour rates in Kerala are the highest in India and even an unskilled labour get Rs 800/= per day for about 6 hours work. If you are cultivating for selling, profitability is an important factor.  However, if you are cultivating for own consumption, profit is not a significant factor because life is not a business. The cost per unit of the homely cultivated vegetable may be more than that of the item available in the market. But there is no comparison in quality and the same quality of vegetable you can see in dreams only and not in market. Even if you are prepared to pay many times more than the market price you will not such quality vegetable anywhere. The fundamental question is whether you want to become a victim of dreaded diseases or want to stay healthy by consuming pure and hygienic vegetables. Few hundred rupees saved by doing cost benefit analysis will have cascading effects and consequently result in spending lacs of rupees for treatment in multi specialty hospitals, in addition to spoiling your body and mind and thereby ruining your life.

Choice is yours, whether to eat poison and spoil your life or eat pure and hygienic vegetables and lead a healthy, happy and peaceful life.  

George Fernandez

George Fernandez

George Fernandez was a veteran trade union leader, politician, journalist, agriculturist and held several ministerial portfolios including Communication, Industry, and Railways in the Janata Party Government. He was minister of Defence in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government (1998-2004) under the stewardship of Atal Behari Vajpayee.

During his tenure in the Defence Ministry, one Joint secretary raised an objection in a file regarding the proposal for providing protective clothing for Jawans in the forward areas and those working in hostile and most uninhabitable areas. The JS was of the opinion that the cost of the item is too much. When George Fernandez came to know about this case, he called the concerned officer and asked him to proceed to Kargil to find for himself under what conditions our Jawans are working and living. It was a shining example of a minister’s interference to protect the welfare of the underprivileged

One .need not requires practical experience to understand and appreciate the problems, difficulties, sorrows, sufferings, trials and tribulations of others. It requires only a compassionate heart, consideration for fellow beings and a little common sense. The very same people will wag their tail and sign on the dotted line with strong recommendation on the  proposals which flouts all rules, regulations, equity, justice and also detrimental to  the national/organizational interest, simply because the people involved or the beneficiaries are powerful, influential, rich and mighty.

Some people sometimes feel surprised and shocked on hearing the sad demise of someone due to heart attack simply because all along they were under the impression that the deceased person was heartless.   

Kulangara Velichapad

Kozhikode Auto

Kozhikode Auto

During my service period, though I wanted to take long leave on some occasions, I was not allowed to take leave by superiors. Fortunately or unfortunately during my entire tenure of service, except for a brief spell, I was handling crucial issues. However, I tried not to miss any of my passions during busy periods also. If there was an important football match even during the month of March (March is considered to be the most crucial period for Finance Staff) I used to watch it by taking short leave if it happens on a working day. Even for my marriage I was granted only 15 days leave against my demand of 30 days as I was dealing with parliament questions also during that period. (One person in my office did not take any leave for his marriage and he left little early at 3 PM to attend his marriage not because he was not having sufficient leave but because he wanted to save it for encashing. Another employee who was the only son of his father was avoiding marriage on the plea that he is not getting leave. Not convinced with his claim, his father one day phoned to his Divisional head, told the whole story and humbly requested him to grant leave to his son for marriage. Divisional head immediately called the concerned employee and asked him to proceed on leave from tomorrow with the instruction that he should return only after marriage. Perhaps that may be the only case or one of the rare cases where an employee was compulsorily sent on leave for marriage). Since the return booking was done 60 days in advance, I could not extend the leave also. Consequently, I could not visit many relatives immediately after marriage. Even for my ICWA examination, I took leave for 2-3 days on the examination days only. In those days, ICWA examinations were held both in the morning and evening, 10 Am to ! PM and 2 PM to t5 PM during the last week of June and December, a conducive climate in Delhi.

During one of my leave period I decided to visit maximum relatives. After visiting a relative at Bangalore, we boarded a train to Coimbatore to visit another relative. From Coimbatore, we had booked a ticket to Kozhikode (Calicut) to visit yet another relative. Scheduled time of arrival of the train at Kozhikode was 8 AM. Our relative was a teacher and the arrangement was that she could go little late to the school.

Subsequently, we got a phone call that since there is inspection in the school, she had to go early. We were in a quandary. The easiest option was to cancel the trip, but we did not do that. We cancelled the earlier ticket and booked another ticket for a train which reaches Kozhikode after midnight. The train reached around 1.30 AM. Only a handful of passengers got down from the train. It was heavily raining accompanied with lightning and thunder. No taxi or autos were visible. There was nobody in the platform. After few minutes I spotted an auto. To our misfortune, one passenger was sitting in the auto. Auto driver told us that he will drop the passenger and will come back within half hour. I was absolutely not having any hope. Who will come back in the torrential rain at odd hours to pick up a passenger that too for a short journey? To our surprise, he came back after 40 minutes. We were having only the address and were not aware of the route. Auto driver stopped the vehicle at 2-3 places and took the trouble of enquiring the route from some residents where light was visible. At last we reached the destination where name board was visible. Even then the auto driver asked us to go and confirm that this is the place where we want to visit and told that he will wait till we confirm. Meter showed charges Rs 18/=. I gave an Rs 50 note and requested the driver not to return the balance as we were overwhelmed by his sense of duty. However, he politely refused the offer and returned the balance saying that he has performed only his duty. My persistent requests to convince him did not materialize.

 Many people especially youngsters born and brought up in Mahanagars (Nay Mahanaraks) may be wondering whether such people and places exist in this country. I do not know whether the situation still remains the same but I am confident that there will not be any drastic change in the situation. During those days, the finest auto services were in Kozhikode. Situations in other places of Kerala may not be the same. In the unlikely event of overcharging or other complaint against an auto, one can approach the auto rickshaw union and not to the traffic police. You can be rest assured that your complaint will be redressed immediately even by refunding the extra charge. If the auto charges come to Rs 19 and if you give 20 rupee note, he will repay one rupee and if it comes to Rs 21 and if you have no change, he will forgo it. If you forget anything in the auto, you will get back within 24 hours as the driver will visit your house and handover the belongings. He will charge only the expenses incurred in coming to your house. If you were dropped in a public place and if address is available, then also you will get back the item at your house. If no address is available, still you can collect your left out item from the nearest police station from where you were dropped as the auto driver would have deposited it with the police station. Kozhikkodans and those who visit Kozhikode frequently can comment on the current situation.

A big salute to the great auto driver.

Travel on deserted roads

Travel on deserted roads

On 15^th August early morning I travelled from Dilshad Garden to Mayur Vihar Guruvayurappan temple by auto. The road was deserted and the there were more policemen than public on the roads. Security was beefed up due to Independence Day. (What is the relation between security and beef is not clear).All vehicles were checked. Perhaps seeing my attire, they did not check me except at one place where they asked me as to where I am going. When I told them that I am going to temple, they did not ask any further question.  It was a perfect setting for a road run. At Buffalo Vihar (Ghazipur) Buffalos and cows had a Road Day (Not field day) as they were roaming freely. However, they were much more disciplined than human beings.

Way back in 1980 I had an opportunity to see a deserted Delhi. That was on 22^nd of February 1980, a complete solar eclipse day. I reached around noon on that day after my marriage by KK Express (Kerala-Karnataka). The train coming from Ernakulam was bifurcated at Jolarpet Junction and half of the train along with another half coming from Bangalore was going to Delhi and other half going to Ernakulam. Station area and taxi/Auto stands were completely empty. Not a single Auto/Taxi was visible.  My friend Mr. Sudhakaran came on his scooter went in search of a taxi.  After half an hour he came with a taxi. The driver was under the influence of liquor.  However, I was sure that he will not hit another vehicle as there were no vehicles on the roads.  Taxi driver followed my friend up to my residence at Sriniwaspuri.  Fortunately he did not make any accident.  The solar eclipse had created so much fear that anybody who looks at the sun may lose his/her sight.  Since nobody was prepared to take such a grave risk, everybody locked themselves at their homes.  A similar situation never occurred earlier and may not likely to occur in future also, at least in the foreseeable future.

DRFA

Death Relief Fund Association.

In our office-Bharat Electronics Ltd Ghaziabad- there was a Death relief Fund association, whose primary duty was to organize the funeral of the deceased employee, arrange the payment of death benefits etc to the family members of the deceased employee etc. DRFA consists of one President, one Secretary, one Treasurer and 4 committee members. President and Treasurer were nominated by the management and others were elected posts. I was the treasurer of DRFA for a long time. Secretary of DRFA Mr. Haridas was very sincere, dedicated and devoted employee and social worker. He used to take my help frequently for preparing minutes, (It is ironical that people take hours to prepare minutes) making letters etc. Initially I used to give him dictation (Though I was not a dictator). Subsequently I asked him to write in his own language in English or Hinglish.  Initially I had to rewrite the whole thing or again gave him dictation. Gradually his drafting skills have improved (Though he was not a draftsman) and after some time it was correct to the extent of 80%. Unlike many others, I do not condemn or ridicule people with lack of knowledge and instead I tried to educate them and improve them. I found that it is not difficult to develop a willing person.

Once an employee came and asked me “What are the benefits under DRFA rules?” I told him (in a lighter vein) “Why you are asking now? You come and ask me when you become eligible for that”. Benefits under DRFA rules were once revised with retrospective effect. On this one committee member quipped “Marne valom ka maze aa Gaya”. (Great news for the deceased people.)

Being the treasurer of DRFA I had to attend funerals of deceased employees. The friend of one of my colleague was employed at Nigambodh Ghat (A funeral place in Delhi) and I befriended with him during one visit. After a long time, when I visited that place again he told me “Aap to bahut din ke baad aaya”. (You came after a long time)

Once an employee came to me and asked me the full details of death benefits given by the company and DRFA.  Since I was not busy at that time, I explained him in detail and gave item wise breakup of details like gratuity, Insurance, Leave encashment, DRFA benefits etc. The amount was running into few lacs, which was much beyond his expectation. After getting the full details he quipped “Ye baat ghar nahi bata sakte hai. Kya pata beevi mar dalega?” (I cannot tell this to my wife. Who knows that she will not murder me?)

Elections to DRFA committee were being held once in 3 years. Many people eager to serve the dead, (perhaps thinking that at least the deceased employee will not complain) contest election vigorously.  One outgoing committee member sought my advice for campaigning. I told him to highlight your achievements and solicit the support of members. His campaign went like this. “Pehle beez saal me sirf 5 employees mar gaya tha. Lekin hamare time 5 saal me beez employee mar gaya. Muje sewa ka mouka deejiye. Kum se kum ek baar to deejiye”. (During the initial period of 20 years only 5 employees died, but during our tenure of 5 years 20 employees died. Please give me a chance to serve you. At least once”.

Delhi Railway Stations

 Delhi Railway Stations.

By making a PNR enquiry before 2 to 4 hours of the departure of train, you will get the status of the reservation and the position of the coach from the engine. While this information is useful in general as you can take position at the platform even before the arrival of train, it is redundant in the case of Railway stations in Delhi/ New Delhi. The other day I had travelled by Mumbai Rajdhani Express. My coach position was 9^th from the engine but there was no indication of the coach position in the platform. Even after the arrival of the train the coach names were not flashed. Consequently passengers were moving from left to right and vice versa. If somebody alights from the foot over bridge, and the first compartment is B4, he/she will not know whether B1 is on the right or left. Similarly on many times the arrival information is not given properly. Even if the train is standing in the outer, the announcement will mention that ABC express is scheduled to arrive shortly without mentioning the platform number.  This will result in unnecessary and avoidable movement of passengers resulting in skirmishes and stampede. There are cases when they give premature information also. While coming from Udaipur at about 8 AM on one day, I found the details of a train was given with coach position which was scheduled to depart at 13.30 Hours. What was the need to give information    five and half hours before the departure of train? Details of trains starting/passing through these stations are also given in a haphazard way.  Neither it is based on the chronological order of the departure timings nor is it based on the direction viz; south, west, east, north etc. Therefore, it takes lot of time to locate a train in the table. Making all these arrangements does not require much infrastructure or any technical expertise, but only little common sense and a sense of duty towards the passengers and public. Authorities should consider inclusion of a topic on “common Sense” as an integral part of school curriculum and an essential part of all training programmes for Delhi Division Railway employees.

On 16^th August I boarded Rajdhani Express from Nizamuddin station. Scheduled departure was 20.45 Hrs. Train reached platform at 20.25 Hrs. Even after the train reached the station, coach position was not indicated on the board. On the other hand, details of a passenger train No 660084 from Palwal to New Delhi was shown on both sides of the boards at the entrance of platform No 4 and 5. This is a classical case of misplaced priorities by not giving the required information of a fully reserved long distance train and giving details of a train, the destination of which is 7 KM from Nizamuddin.

Chaos, confusion and indiscipline are the hallmarks of Delhi. One of the reasons is the multiplicity of authorities. Delhi can be compared with Draupati, but the comparison stops then and there itself. While Draupati’s husbands were having perfect understanding and were vying with each other to serve her, Delhi’s husbands like DDA, NDMC, DMC, PWD (Delhi Govt), CPWD (Central Govt), were all having misunderstanding and tries to shirk, shift, bypass and avoid responsibilities. In the process Delhiwala are the most sufferers. In spite of that many of them feel proud to be Dilwalas. We Indians have the tendency to copy and adopt wrong practices and Delhi Division of Northern railway is apparently doing that taking a cue from Delhi.

National Capital is visited by lacs   of people from across the country and around the globe. What impression the visitors will carry about the capital and country if even rudimentary things are managed in such a cavalier and irresponsible way is anybody’s guess.  

Veli

Veli

During one of my trips to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), I planned to visit Veli one of the picturesque places on the outskirts of the city- a tourist attraction having excellent facilities for boating. I sent an SMS to my wife and daughter as follows “Njan velikku pokunnu”. (I am going for Veli). In Malayalam Veli means marriage. They thought that I am going to attend some marriage. After few minutes I got frantic telephone calls but to sustain the suspense for some time, I did not attend the call. In the meantime they called many other relatives also to find out whose marriage is there at Trivandrum. Since I did not give any indication regarding attending marriage, before proceeding to Trivandrum, they got confused. Had it been within 50 Kilometers from my house, they could have guessed or narrowed down to 2-3 cases. However, since Trivandrum is more than three hundred kilometers from my house they could not make any guess. After some time I called back my wife and before she could say anything, I told her that I was enjoying boat ride at Veli and since network was not available, I could not call back and thus the faux pas was ended.

During the boat ride I had a chat with the boatman. He was an avid football fan. We discussed about great footballers of the yesteryears like Pele, Diego Maradona, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Bobby Moore, Gordon Banks, Platini, Bobby Charlton, Puskas, Eusabio Yashin and current footballers like Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo etc. We also talked about the golden era of India football having legendary players like Chuni Goswami, P K Banerjee, Thangaraj, Arumai Nayagam, Jarnail Singh, Inder Singh, Makhan Singh etc and about popular Kerala footballers like I M Vijayan, Pappachan, Joe Paul Ancheri, Xavier Pius, Mustafa, Chathunni etc. I was amazed with his soccer knowledge. Since our chat continued for long, he took two extra rounds at no extra charges. I also reproduced excerpts from my mock commentary of the 1973 Santosh Trophy final, where Kerala became national champions for the first time. We were so much impressed with each other as he was prepared to continue the talk for some more time, but since I had some prior commitments I had to say good bye to the boatman. He requested me to come again to Veli and enjoy the boat ride and the pep talk. It is one of the cheapest entertainments to chat with connoisseurs of any subject but I wonder as to how many people are availing this facility.  On many occasions during journeys by higher class in trains and by air, I found most of the people tight lipped as if a tape has been put on their lips. Further many people would like to talk to citizens of their standard only. What are the criteria of standard is best known to them only. I talk to all categories of people of all ages and I firmly believe that there is something to learn from everybody. Though I retired more than 5 years ago, I still talk to Mr. Surinder a casual helper of Central Research Laboratory Bharat Electronics Ltd Ghaziabad who is an embodiment of human virtues.  I will be visiting Pithoragarh the home town of Surinder Singh Adhikari during next summer to be with the innocent, industrious, innocuous and intelligent individuals of Kumaon region and to enjoy the enchanting enigmatic beauty of the expanse.  After the boat ride, I had lunch in a fabulous floating restaurant enjoying the scenic beauty of the lake, sea, sand, shore and my synonym, the Sun.

Fascinating story of a friendship with a fish will appear in my Facebook page sgortly.

A big salute to the unknown boatman and a great soccer fan.

C K C Pillai

CKC Pillai

CKC Pillai or CK Chandran Pillai, popularly known as Pillai was an employee of Bharat Electronics working in Finance Division. Though he was a class IV employee working as Messenger, he was very popular among his colleagues and other departments having interaction with Finance.  He was an embodiment of efficiency, reliability, loyalty, sincerity, dedication etc.  He does so much of work of himself and others that his absence for a single day virtually makes the work to a standstill. His work output wias equalm to the average workmoutput ofn 2-3 Though he was a messenger, his primary job was to prepare cheques, get it signed by authorized signatories and distribute them to the concerned persons/departments. He has to prepare hundreds of cheques in a day and it goes to his credit that there was not a single mistake in the cheques prepared by Pillai. His reputation was so high that any authorized signatory was prepared to sign the cheque prepared by Pillai without thoroughly verifying.  He was meticulous in maintaining records also and was quick in retrieving old records also.  He could be assigned the job of any higher staff that is 5 to 6 grades above his job.  

When I was working in Provident Fund Department, there was acute shortage of staff and consequently there was some delay in completion of work.  Closing of accounts and issue of Annual PF statements was to be done without much delay.  I requested my superiors to allow Pillai to work in PF after office hours. Two three days I worked with him and subsequently, I explained the job to him, gave him the target and asked him to contact me whenever he is having any doubt.  Subsequent days when I checked the data prepared by him, it was absolutely correct.  Subsequently, I heard some people murmuring “Ye tho hamara noukari kharab karega “. (He will spoil our job)

Despite all the extra ordinary work done by him, he continued to remain as Messenger as his qualification was only 8^th Standard.  It is not out of point to mention that Late Shri V P Menon, one of the finest civil servants India has produced was only 8^th standard. He was the right hand of Sardar Vallabhai Patel and was instrumental in amalgamating hundreds of princely states to the Indian Nation. Similarly one of the greatest and most successful public sector CEOs Shri V Krishna Murthy who was the man behind the success/revival story of Maruti, BHEL and SAIL was only a diploma engineer. We Indians give undue importance to qualifications and utter disregard to qualities. Qualifications without qualities are meaningless and such a person will be a liability rather than an asset.  What is the point in appointing a highly qualified person is dishonest and corrupt?  Considering his amazing qualities, Pillai could have been given a higher post, by taking approval of the highest authorities, but nobody bothered to help a poor and talented boy. Despite the fact that he was having several family and financial problems, he was always cheerful.  He was not even considered for Excellency award.  As per the legacy of the British system, we do not consider lower category employees for any award or recognition. Recently Defence Awards were announced and all the recipients were officers of the rank of Major General/equivalent and above. Does it mean that other category of employees are not doing any exemplary work?. It is an irrefutable fact that Dhyan Chand was the greatest hockey player produced by the world and he was the  … of the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna. He was ibnstrumental in Ibndia’s top position in hockey for several years. After the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, Germany gave a reception to the Indian team. During the reception a person none other than Adolf GHoyler declared that If Dhtan Chand had been in Germany, he would have ben Major General but in India he was onlt MaJOR WITHOUT General.

Shri Pillai left to his heavenly abode on ----- at the age of ---.   Hundreds of people attended his funeral. Being the treasurer of BEL Death Relief Fund Association I had the chance to attended several funerals of BEL employees but nowhere I saw such a big gathering as at Pillai’s funeral.  At least he was given a fitting send off after his death.

A big salute to an ordinary person with extra ordinary qualities. 

KGM Half Marathon

KGM Half Marathon

After participating in the Kathgodam Half Marathon on 26^th July I reached back Delhi on Monday early morning.  It was the first marathon arranged at Kathgodam. I clocked 2:34 hrs. I am running a half marathon after a gap of 8 months viz; after the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 0n 23.11.2014. This was the first marathon I ran after joining the Sunday run club. I gratefully acknowledge the valuable tips, encouragement and piecemeal coaching I got from my young and loving friends of SRC. Big Marathon season starts now beginning with Airtel Hyderabad Marathon In August followed by Shriram Marathon at Bangalore, ADHM Delhi, Beach Marathon Goa, Wipro Marathon Chennai culminating with the prestigious Standard Chartered Marathon at Mumbai.  I thought of participating in the Indore Half Marathon during February, but by the time I came to know about that, no train tickets were available.

I got introduced with several runners most of them youngsters. I met an elderly looking person and got introduced. When he told his age, I was surprised (-) and when I disclosed my age he also got surprised (+). As per mathematical terms both surprises crossed and ultimately there was no surprise. In fact that elderly looking person was one year younger to me. Moreover, he was participating in 5K. Thus I was the senior most person participated in the KGHM. I lavishly showered love, affection and appreciation on the youngsters. Some of them were so excited that they wanted photo session with their senior colleague and I happily agreed. I could encourage, motivate and inspire few teenagers and will continue to do once they come to my FB. (Many people are not only miser in spending money but also in sparing unlimited resources like love, affection , regards, appreciation, compassion, likes etc.  Even during cultural programmes of children, somebody has to appeal to the audience to clap. Still some of them will clap only when their children perform on the stage)

Contrary to popular perception, whether was not good at Kathgodam. On Saturday while going to Kathgodam, some passengers were wearing sweater, so I thought that weather will be cool. On Saturday night there was thundershower and Sunday early morning it was looking very pleasant.  Though the scheduled starting time was 6.00 AM, it actually started at 7.10 AM. For the first 10-15 minutes it was alright, running on the picturesque valley in the midst of paddy fields, cane plantation on one side and majestic teakwood trees and pine trees on the other side of the road.  After some time the sunshine become bright and it was scorching heat. My synonym (Or counterpart?) Sun did not show any mercy to me and other co runners. It was partly my mistake also as I did not have a word with him earlier.

The worst was waiting to happen.  Runners were provided with plain water only and no energy drinks except one small bottle at half way stage.  After about one hour water was also exhausted and no volunteers were seen on the route. It was a grueling run under the sweltering sun without any arrangement for refueling. Unable to bear the heat and humidity many runners had removed their T shirts. Runners were drenched in sweat. One Mexican couple who came with lot of enthusiasm left the run half way due to heat and no water.    Many others also may not have completed the race.  If the organizers had financial constraints, they could have avoided providing T shirt and breakfast but they should have made proper arrangements during the running as runners cannot carry water, energy drinks and snacks. There was no medical facility also.

Such lack of facilities creates a bad impression with the runners and many of them will think twice before registering for subsequent marathons.  It is true that this was a debut marathon for Kathgodam, there was no sponsorship and they had limited resources but one cannot compromise on basic facilities.  Runners will also be sceptical to join any new marathon and tries to stick to the established ones only which is not in the interest of sports and athletics in the country.  We lament about the lack of facilities and insensitive attitude of bureaucracy, Government and politicians towards the sports especially athletics but if we the running community treat our runners and athletes in this shabby manner who else will come to our support?  We should put our own house in order and once this is done, help, support, recognition, reward etc will automatically come from other quarters.

I appeal to the organizers to take this in the proper perspective and as a positive criticism in the interest of runners and organizers of future marathons. What is done cannot be undone and what is undone cannot be done.  Let us not find excuses for not doing the things.  We Indians have an uncanny knack of searching for scapegoats and “Bahana” (Excuse) and also try to invent and fabricate “Bahana”. There is no point in concealing the truth and window dressing our weaknesses and shortcomings.  People who admit the mistake can correct and improve and those who do not admit the mistake (There are lot many) will go down the ladder. The least the organizers can do is to ensure that such lapses will not recur in future. I hope they organizers will take a pledge to remove all these shortcomings in the next edition so that participants will hail KGHM as one of the best organized half Marathons in the country. Sponsorship will follow suit. However, if the organizers think that they will organize better after getting the sponsorship, they may never get a sponsorship as companies would like to sponsor a well managed event and nobody would like to support a badly managed one.

Organizers are also requested to conduct the next edition at a more appropriate time having congenial climate instead of during hot and humid weather. They should also advance the starting time to 5.30 AM or latest by 6.00 AM

Let us all jointly try to   improve the standard of sports in the country and make all out efforts to make India a sporting power in the years to come.  There is no dearth of talent in the country the need of the hour is to unearth, nurture and develop those talents.  We can reach the pinnacles of glory with 4 Ds (Devotion, Dedication, Determination and Discipline) and 4 Ss (Speed, Skill, Stamina and sportsman spirit)

Let us pray and work for a glorious future for Indian sports.  

Record Brfeakers

Record Breakers

In the recently concluded World Athletic Championship, only 3 athletes broke the national records viz; Lalita Babar, O P Jaisha and Sudha Singh.  Lalita Babar broke her own record in the 3000 meters steeplechase and O P Jaisha and Sudha Singh broke the record created by O P Jaisha in the Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon held during January 2015. It is not out of point to mention that Jaisha broke 20 year old record on her debut marathon, something unprecedented in the history of athletics  and this was her second marathon only. All of them are highly talented athletes and given the best facilities, nutritional food, excellent environment, finest coaching and adequate international exposure, they can create wonders.

I had an opportunity to meet them at the Sports Authority of India South Centre at Bangalore. They were also very happy and excited to meet their Mamaji. I was moved by their love, care and regards as they themselves prepared tea to serve me. I will be happy to play the role of a mentor, motivator and facilitator to these and other talented athletes at free of cost. I am exploring the possibilities as to how I will be able to help them to enable them to create Olympic history. Earlier I had approached 88 leading organizations and eminent individuals for the sponsorship of O P Jaisha, the poorest among them. It is very sad that they have to purchase costly shoes from their feeble pockets. She showed some sporting shoes purchased from China spending from her own pocket each costing around Rs 8500/=, like an innocent child showing her toys to someone. I felt pity for her plight but also felt proud of her devotion, dedication and love to sports.  In spite of several adversities if they are performing creditably it is due to their dedication, determination and patriotism. They deserve to be worshipped and not merely appreciated. Story of their sorrows, sufferings, sacrifices, trials and tribulations will appear in my FB page shortly. 

Boomerang

Velichapad

Dr Ranjeev Manrao

Contrasting approach

Last week I had a meeting with a Face Book friend Dr. Ranjeev Manrao He is based in Mumbai. Earlier during a visit to Mumbai I wanted to meet him but due to other pre occupations, I could not. Subsequently, once he informed that he will be passing through Delhi on his way to Roorki, but I could not meet him during his stop over for about 20 minutes. Dr.Ranjeev Manrao is the CEO and founder of a leading firm of Trainers and Consultants in Mumbai. He is a leading Management Consultant, Professional Speaker, and outstanding orator, Guide, Mentor and Motivator. He strongly believes in & follows High Standards of Ethics Values, Honesty & Integrity.

    For him profession is a social service and a passion unlike many others who make it as a lucrative business for minting money. He do not hesitate to travel in sleeper class also where as his counterparts may be travelling in business class by air. He is a synonym of simplicity, sagacity, sincerity and straight forwardness. This is in sharp contrast to some other Friends (?) in Face book who never replies to repeated messages, never respond to greetings, and do not “Like” comments of their posts by some friends. They are nothing but self proclaimed VIPs who thinks that they live in ivory towers. They are under the illusion that interacting with UIPs (unimportant persons) will lower their (sub) standard and is below their (False) prestige.

In this connection it will be apt to reproduce my tweet of some time back

 “Arrogant and egoists are those who got/snatched something-position, promotion, power, money, wealth, status, award, reward, recognition etc which they do not deserve.”

A Big Salute to DR. Ranjeev Manrao. 

Breakfast

Sweet and Sour

I try to locate people including relatives, friends and acquaintances and normally do not surrender till I reach a logical conclusion.  I was having contact with a person for several years from last 5 decades and few years ago I realized that I lost touch with that person for nearly 30 years. I made an attempt to locate that person. I made several phone calls to people who were known to that person. Many people said that they don’t have the address/contact number and some others asked me to contact again after few hours/days etc so that they could check back. Nobody gave me a return call giving the details or reply. Since it was my job to locate the person, I repeatedly rang up the persons who gave me a little hope. At last, somebody gave me the contact number and by the time it was time to return to Delhi from Kerala. I rang up the person and explained the whole story. I told that person that since I had to return to Delhi next day, I can come early in the morning.

Next day, I boarded a bus at 5 AM. I had to wake up around 4 AM to take bath and get ready to start. I reached my host’s place around 6.30 AM. We talked for about one hour in the reminiscence of old days. While saying good bye to my host at around 7.30 AM, I was told that since some repair work is going in the house, no arrangements were made for preparing Idli/Dosa. I am a very flexible person, and I can have anything for breakfast including Banana, Kanji (Rice water) or boiled tapioca etc. (There was no evidence of repair work in the front side of the house, courtyard or compound.) Since I was terribly hungry, I could not wait till I reached home and had breakfast at a hotel near the bus stand before boarding bus to Pattambi reroute to Edapal.

I was wondering whether it was worth to take all the trouble to locate the person and meet the person despite having time constraints. However, I consoled myself that life is a mixture of good, bad and ugly experiences.

However, such unsavoury incidents did not deter me to continue my pursuit in searching friends and acquaintances, many of them I could not trace till date. 

Lexury at Low cost

Luxury at low cost

During my trip to Hyderabad for participating In the Half Marathon, I was staying with my cousin at Somajiguda in the heart of the city near Raj Bhawan, Banjara Hills etc.  The ITEX Expo where the BIB number and T Shirts were being distributed was far off from there. Last year I went there by an auto spending huge amount on conveyance.  This year I decided to go by public transport.  On enquiry I was told that I can go by local train. Necklace Road Railway station is only walking distance from my place of stay. When I reached the station, a train going to Yellampalli passing through Expo city was standing on the platform. Since I had not purchased the ticket, I did not board that train. I purchased a ticket which was costing Rs 5 only and without enquiring I was told by the booking clerk that the next train is at 9.10 AM, after about 40 minutes.

There were only a handful of passengers in the platform. The platform was facing the famous Hussain Sagar Lake.  Lake view hotels and lake view apartments are very costly but here I could enjoy lake view at free of cost. Moreover, in those hotels and apartments lake view will be hindered by some objects in between but here I was enjoying an unhindered view of the lake.  It goes to the credit of Hyderabadis that they kept the lake neat and clean unlike in some other cities where lakes are rivers are dirty pools by making them dumping grounds.  Perhaps for the first time while waiting for a train, I thought it better if the train comes late so that I can enjoy the beauty of nature for some more time.  As the name correctly indicates, necklace road is a necklace on the neck (Hussain Sagar Lake) of Hyderabad. I was tempted to have a boat ride at the lake, but unfortunately I was not having spare time. Story of a fascinating boat ride will be posted later

Train reached about 20- minutes late which helped me to have full one hour lake view. It was half empty and I could get a window seat.  Never could I travel in such a luxury in a city journey. (Mumbaikers will wonder whether it is possible to have a city travel like this.  During one of my trip to Mumbai, unable to bear the horror of train journey, I travelled by bus which took 2 hours to reach the destination. On return journey, at about 11.30 PM, my host suggested me to travel by train as there will be no rush. I could not get a seat in the train but I could reach the destination in 15 minutes. According to Mumbaikers, no rush means one can comfortably stand) I could view the lake for few more moments.  On the way 2 villagers boarded the train, one with a basketful of jasmine flowers and another with a basketful of curry leaves.  The whole compartment was filled with fragrance.

.  I was tempted to ask for a couple of curry leaves from the vendor.  He told me to take as much as I want.  What a generosity.  I took few leaves, squeezed one by one, smelled and thrown through the window.   I could never see such natural curry leaves for sale as all the curry leaves available in most of the markets will have only the shape and not the smell.  My journey completed after about 25 minutes covering 8 stations, all at a meager price of Rs 5. I think most of the people always talk about high cost and never about low cost.

Hyderabad Marathon

AHHM

On 30^th August, I participated in the Airtel Hyderabad Half Marathon. On the previous day, I met several runners’ friends at the ITEX Expo where the T shirts and BIB No were distributed. I had a photo session with Soles of Cochin runners.  When I asked them as to who is running half marathon, they said in a chorus “Nothing less than full marathon”.  I liked their spirit and unity. A runner from soles of Cochin Mr. Mathew Mapram was the veteran champion of last year. I purchased a book by a passionate runner Parul Sheth under the title “Running Soul”. My comments on the book will appear in a separate post. Myself and a full marathon runner Ravi Kumar from Chennai had a nice lunch at NCA (National Construction Authority) canteen at a nominal cost of Rs 70/=.

In the evening I had a lavish oil bath with almost one hour massage with “Balaswagandhadi Tailam” medicated ayurvedic oil. From my experience I found that massaging with ayurvedic oil is very effective which will help to maintain the flexibility of the body and prevents small problems like muscle pulling, cramps pain in the body etc.  In Delhi I cannot have such a luxurious bath as in summer after 15- 20 minutes I will be massaging with sweat instead of oil and in winter it will be possible to stand in that position for one hour. After the bath, I went to the nearby Ayyappa temple.  Subsequently I had light dinner with idly and Anar   juice and slept at 8.30 PM. 

Last year I reached the venue too early.  So this year I started little late. After boarding the auto, I found that traffic is closed at several inter junctions as the full marathon had started at 5 AM. .  Auto driver wanted to take a long route, but I asked him to take the same road in the opposite direction. On the way traffic police stopped us for taking wrong route, but seeing my attire, I was allowed to proceed.  Auto stopped at a distance from where I had to walk.  At last I reached the venue at 5. 50 AM. As the runners came early had taken position in the front, I had to catch the last bus of 3. 15

Due to plethora of runners, there was no space for running initially. Many of them were non- serious or casual runners.  I tried to overtake them by running on the footbath, but many of them were walking leisurely on the footpath also blocking the way of others. This continued for 3-4 Kilometers.  If I had taken position in the front row, I could have saved few minutes.  After about 4 KMs I changed the bus to 3. After some time I felt amiss and uncomfortable. Few minutes later, I checked up what is wrong with my shoes. To my surprise, I found that one screw had pierced into my shoes.  I could take it out without much difficulty.  Hyderabad marathon is considered to be the toughest city marathon with rolling hills and flyovers. Climate was not conducive as expected. After some time it was hot and humid.  The roads were not flat and smooth and at many places roads were broken.  Creation of a new state and installation of a new Government had its toll on the city. Chandra Babu Naidu was a good administrator and he nurtured the city very well but the present Chief Minister is a good agitator. I heard that due to poor development, property prices are falling in Hyderabad.

After 11 KM I changed the bus to 2.45 bus. Arrangements were good at water stations and first aid stations. Fortunately, I was not required to use first aid station. There were cooling systems also at 2 places. Considering the sultry condition, they could have increased the cooling stations.  Lemon was conspicuous by its absence.  Consequently provision of salt was redundant.  I think coconut water is an excellent fuel for runners.   Tender coconut water is pure, unadulterated, hygenic and a great gift of nature.  If the organizers cannot provide within the registration fee, they could have arranged on payment basis.  They can instantly fill it in small bottles, as runners cannot carry coconut.  My assessment is that with the provision of tender coconut, most of the runners will be able to improve their time by 2 to 10 minutes. Moreover, we should use our natural resources to the maximum extent.  On the halfway stage, few elite runners overtook us with lightening speed.

After crossing 16 KMs I joined the 2.30 bus. I finished the race without much difficulty. A sumptuous breakfast was waiting.  I waited till the prize giving ceremony and by that time all the buses had left.  I along with a runner friend took an auto to a nearby bus stand and from there we boarded a Volvo bus. After reaching the place of residence, again I had a lavish bath preceded by an oil massage.  By the evening train I left Hyderabad to Bangalore.  In the train I slept at 8.30 PM and woke up only at 5.30 AM.  It was a challenging run worth remembering.

With the best wishes and support of my friends and relatives, I came second in the Super Veteran category.  I give full credit to my family, relatives, and friends for their unstinted support and to innumerable well wishers. For a person who never participated in any sports activities during his school or college days and who started running at the age of 64, I with all humility feel that it is a stupendous achievement beyond my expectations. Thank you my family members, relatives, friends and well wishers for their unstinted support and best wishes.

However, I would have been much more happier had the Indian participants at the world athletic championship O P Jaisha and Sudha Singh who ran on the same day, same time at Beijing would have finished second and third instead of 18^th and 19^th.. Nevertheless, it is gratifying that both broke the national record created by Jaisha and qualified for the Rio Olympics. It is not out of point to mention that Jaisha broke 20 year old record in the SCMM held during January 2015 on her debut and this is her second marathon only. Both of them are highly talented and dedicated athletes and let us hope that they will create history in the 2016 Olympics and make all of us proud.

The eldest person participated and completed the half marathon was an 82 year old (young) athlete. He was specially felicitated at the prize distribution ceremony for his indomitable spirit. Event manager’s announcement that all the way he was running, was received by the spellbound audience with thunderous applause.  Many youngsters will be wondering as to when a person of their Grandfather’s (or Great Grand Father) age can run 21 KM nonstop, why can’t they ?. I exhort the people of all ages to join the running fraternity and inculcate and expand sporting spirit. Running not only helps in the physical and mental well being but also contributes to the behavioral pattern, outlook and attitude, all in the positive direction. If all of us join together, we can change the sports scenario of the country and can make India a super power in sports at least in the Asian circuit within a period of a decade or two. This will help in strengthening national integration in a country divided by caste, creed, region, religion, and language etc, consequent promotion of nationality feeling culminating in the accelerated process of all round development of the country.