In the Month of August...

Confession (Promoting Hindi)

Many a time when I have to dial a Customer Care number, and when as first step the machine asks me to select language of my choice, I choose "Hindi" and not "English". I do it so that the company or call center sees demand for Hindi speaking customer-care executives and hence would employ some more. A speck in the ocean, my intent is not 'favoritism' but to help create a level playing field for people who just happen to not know English very well.

You can do so for your local language too...

In the Journey called Life...

How time flies. I was thinking about this in the morning. We are first kids, then become youth, then middle aged and then old. It is just a matter of a few years and many of the things that we counted relevant would become irrelevant and perhaps a lot of things we thought irrelevant would be counted as relevant in the end. Are we doing enough good karma to ensure a good life in next birth? You may laugh at it but I do think about all this many a time. When I review my karma, I don't feel confident enough. Our job and our career etc - where we spend most of our energy - do these things help us earn any punya at all? Or occupation is merely a means to support life and family and other things matter which we mostly ignore...

Prize in Quiz

Happy to share with you that I got Second Prize in a technology Quiz during ‘Technotsav’ at Infosys Pune. It was a one week event similar to college days' tech-fests - with lots of events, stalls, guest lectures, and quizzes. I received a certificate and small gift in an award ceremony from the Pune DC Heads.

My Message on Independence Day 2015!

At the end, it is us who make our country either great or poor. When you buy Indian products; Indian companies' employees, suppliers, transporters, all get employment and the companies get to reinvest in India. Make a pledge to consider buying quality Indian brands every time you have to make a purchase. While buying just imagine how your money is not only being spent but also befitting a lot of your own fellow countrymen.

Happy Independence Day!

Our Security Guards!

While going in and coming out of the office campus, a string of security guards scan our laptops in order to earn their salaries. Earlier they used to do manual verifications; now they just scan a bar-code and a QR code. They are literate and adequately educated; whatever that means.

This evening while I approached them for the daily ritual; another colleague had just been there and done that while talking over his cellphone all the time. And one security guard was caught telling his fellow colleague in full attention – “wo bol raha tha… wo 'client' ko 'reference' karega…” and concluded with “aur apna 'biodata' bhejega…” Wow!

So I realized that our security guards actually 'think behind our back'! I still don’t understand what was meant by “wo client ko reference karega”, and if the security guard got confused between 'biodata' and 'big data'; but I was definitely impressed by his curiosity! I think if the security guard could actually understand what was being talked about over phone, his life would be dull. As of now he does not understand it, so his life is 'out of the box'!

Picture of the Month

Family of African Elephants. Just look at the little ones! (Pic credit Bing.com)

Website of the Month

http://annamrita.org/

Annamrita is an NGO that provides 12,00,000 meals everyday to schools all over India. Checkout its website and contribute towards a noble cause. What are you waiting for? Click: http://annamrita.org/

Disclaimer: Written by Kumar Rahul Tiwary. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect views of organization author is associated with. 

Book: The Life and Times of Layla The Ordinary by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

I finished reading ‘The life and times of Layla the Ordinary’ by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan (written popularly on the front cover as Minna Madhavan) recently. I would definitely say that I am immensely impressed by her writing quality. And the book gave me mixed feelings due to miscellaneous reasons touched upon in subsequent portion of this blog post.

If I have to rate the author on writing ability; I would give her 10/10. In this book, she appears witty and funny and shows an understanding and maturity so demanded on such sensitive stories. The story told in the form of ‘journal entries’ looks very appropriate and natural. I also noticed that Layla explained why she was writing a journal and it showed author’s care for details. There are sketches in the book, making the experience very interesting. Author is very innovative in such aspects. When I started reading it; I got to know it that I had not read something like this before.

The book mentions that it is meant for ‘young adults’. I think it can also be called ‘teenage melodrama’ or ‘growing up pangs’; or any other interesting way to put it. I confess that I have already crossed the (teen) age and hence I can afford to be skeptical about it. Anyways, that counted as my nostalgia for the beautiful years gone by. The main character of the story is called ‘Layla’ (she is touchy about the spelling btw!). She is still (blessed to be) in school and the story is written from her viewpoint. Here, I did have some objections. I believe that a girl of her age can’t have that much knowledge and understanding (or pretend to lack it) of herself; as it comes out from the book. In these pages, I guess the author has taken over the stage from Layla. And if Layla indeed was like Layla; she could not have been a bit confused and a self declared ‘ordinary’ at all. 

Btw, I did not like it that Layla had to break it with Advait (the most popular boy in school). In fact what she did could very well be called ‘use-and-throw’; which boys popularly accuse girls with. But I also think that she won’t have broken up if her so called brave friend Suze was not there. It may be comforting to know that someone knows you better than you do; but we can never be sure about that. And I also think that Layla starting to flirt with Akash even when she was Advait’s girlfriend was indeed ‘cheating’. But it seemed that for Layla, the joy of no longer being an ‘ordinary’ girl was so high that she did not care at all about what was right and what was wrong. Anyways, it was her learning experience and we can’t be correct all the time. But I felt sorry for Advait; and I felt angry at Akash.

While the beginning of the book is brilliant and the author keeps the story exciting till very far; the later portions of the book became a bit boring and predictable. So I had to skip a few pages. But at an overall level, this is a good book.

Recommended only if you like to read such teenage stories; otherwise not.

- Rahul 

Why Petrol Price Won’t Reduce with Same % as Crude Oil Slumps

A newspaper published a big news item saying that in last n months, international crude oil prices have come down by 20% but in India petrol prices have come down only by 8%. It says that price of petrol should also have been reduced proportionally.

Now imagine if govt has do reduce finished product's price by the same fraction its primary raw material's price has reduced. Govt will need to reduce salary of all staffs by 20%, reduce payments to vendors etc by same 20%; each cost component's % reduction may vary but overall should necessarily reduce. It is near impossible to achieve this.

Now add to that the complexity of inventory. Public sector oil companies and refineries bought crude oil at the rate of Rs A. It takes time to refine, process and make finished product. Due to this time lag companies can't start selling petrol and diesel at much lesser price at the moment, since price will be according to the cost of crude oil it paid several months back; and that was much more than current price.

There may be other several other factors than the important ones I have highlighted. For example these companies may have long term contract with crude oil suppliers. Or they need to offset the losses made in recent past. Obviously this subject is as complex as it is interesting.

But then why newspapers and media houses run such populist stories which are half-understood? It is said that half knowledge is worse than ignorance. If you don’t know that you don’t know; it is a worse situation than when you know that you don’t know.

- Rahul 

[Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal]

Why don’t Dogs learn how to cross the road

Today a dog while trying to cross the road got hit by a moving bus. It was hurt and came back crying to the side from where it had started. We don’t need to imagine what urgent or important business the dog had on the other side of the road. Hope the dog gets well soon… 

But I wondered why don’t dogs learn how to cross the road? I have seen only a few dogs having learnt it – they try to accompany any human being who they guess is crossing the road. But if the dog is alone – it is helpless. It is painful to think about. Once I saw a dog struggling to cross the road and I tried to seek its attention as I started crossing the road – but I guess it did not find me trustworthy enough to accompany me.

Can you think of any solution to this problem?

The Magical Journey Called #Baahubali

I watched ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ during the second weekend after its release. I would confess that my expectations were very high; given that the movie had garnered some very positive reviews and also because it was Indian film industry’s biggest production. It was supposed to destroy Bollywood’s over reliance on a mediocre genre of same old aged superstars dancing around with new actresses 20 years their juniors. I would also add that before this I have watched only a few movies produced in the Southern states of India and I was not impressed. This time though, Baahubali was to bring not a gush of wind but a ready storm.

As it turned out for me, I had not watched anything like Baahubali before (from Indian cinema). I love this genre of epic war movies and hence I judged Baahubali critically after comparing it with some of the greatest ones from Hollywood. And I can say with confidence that I loved Baahubali at least at par or even better than those Hollywood flicks.

As the screen opened in the theater after mandatory singing of National Anthem (customary in Maharashtra), the opening scene of an injured queen running away with an infant in her arms with a pack of enemies chasing her was mind-blowing. You put that intense scene in the beginning and you risk being judged with your own standards all through the length of the movie. But Baahubali turned out to be a magic – whole length of it was as intense and as enjoyable. Of course there were scenes where ‘hero’ chased ‘heroine’ on the mountains; and where both sang some romantic songs even if in imagination – but such songs mostly did not appear imposed or ‘out-of-place’. The war near the end of the movie was as epic as it could get.

If you have not watched Baahubali: The Beginning; yet, the best time is now. But there is a warning: the movie has plenty of violence. Though you must have learnt to manage it, for example by closing your eyes, so as not to get affected by it. If you don’t mind such scenes, go there with a feast waiting for you.

My Rating: 5 Starts out of 5.

- Rahul

[Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal] 

Mother Cat

A cat in our neighborhood started crying and moving around restlessly some days back. Cats do that when they don't find any of their babies at their expected place. When cats cry in this manner, their voice resembles human voice and it is heart-wrenching to hear. But this cat continued doing that daily; never giving up; and we wondered what the matter was. Yesterday we got to know what had happened. 

One of the houses in the neighborhood had picked one of her babies to keep it as "pet". When cat was restless and crying, a man from the house brought the kitten in his hands to show it to the mother cat. This is typically a "human" behavior. Was the man expecting that when mother cat would realize that her baby was in "safe hands", she would stop pursuing it? Cats have not learned such evolved human tendencies and she still cries every evening; waiting to get her baby back... 

I think our "humanity" is overrated.

- Rahul Tiwary

Finally Watched ‘PK’ and a bit Disappointed

A few days back the famous movie 'PK' appeared on TV; and I watched most of it. I had not watched this movie in a theater when it was released because of the negative controversy around it. So you may find my opinion interesting.

Having watched it now, if I have to summarize my feelings in one word, I would say I found it "undeserving". Here is how:

The movie did not really appear 'controversial' to me; the scenes which were publicized as being offending to Hindus were actually funny and silly. I did not even find 'Shiva chasing' scene insulting to Lord Shiva despite being His 'fan' (modern word for 'disciple').

While watching the initial portions of the movie I found those as hilarious, interesting, funny, stupid and idiotic. A lot of scenes were 'supposed to be funny' while those were actually 'hyped'. The later part of the movie after a Guru took over, was actually 'boring'. Bollywood has simply ran out of ideas when it comes to making religious Gurus as villains - it is the same old story of fake Gurus in saffron robes fooling followers, pick up anything from year 1975 to 2015.

I found 'PK' an average and hyped movie. It should have come on screens and gone away after doing 'okay' business. But alas, religious and social organizations made it appear like an 'apocalypse' which it was not. I am sure it gained popularity due to the controversy around it. People like me who actually did not go to watch it because of controversy would have been outnumbered by people who actually went to explore it because of the hype around it. (Also because other big flicks were not released for weeks following it.)

It appeared like a casual movie but it had gone to be the most successful movie of all time from our country; earning Rs 700 Crores worldwide. It is sad that while our movie industry has produced so many really great movies, those have done average business. But this average movie did greatest business ever.

The message for religiously sensitive audiences and genuine social organizations is - the more you protest against it, the more you will do disservice against your own cause; so don't be hyper about such movies. But one interesting lesson for other movie makers is - hire some PR agencies to inflame religious sentiments of some from the previous set; and if they are not inflamed, make them appear so by planting stories in the media; and soon you will see the magic - your rotten potatoes will start selling at the price of potato chips!

- Rahul Tiwary

[Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.]

Vivek Jyoti Magazine from Ramakrishna Mission

'Vivek Jyoti' is a Hindi magazine published by Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Ashram, Raipur (C.G.). It is a wonderful magazine with some regular features and articles on various aspects of spirituality, yoga, religion and society, many written by the monks of Ramakrishna Mission and some reproduced articles written by Swami Vivekananda.

Earlier I had shared about it with friends and some of them asked to share a few pages as sample. I have now scanned and uploaded a few articles from its May 2015 issue which you can view and read. The document is in .XPS format which opens with XPS Viewer. 

If you are not able to view it online, try to download it and then open.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Kl-PQwxOyRZ2ZUZ3Y1NXNXLU0/view?usp=sharing

Subscription details are on Page-2 of this document. You can also view it directly in below image (click on the image to enlarge):

If you have any queries, let me know. 

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. 

Problem with Historic India - Bangladesh Land Swap Deal

Today, India PM Narendra Modi is in Bangladesh and he will be freezing an agreement over resolving land disputes by exchanging land pockets (enclaves) with Bangladesh. It will be a historic decision which will indeed prevent infiltration, disputes and inconvenience to people from both sides. Despite being a Modi fan, ever since I learnt about this plan I have been a little disturbed about it. What is the cause of concern? Before I come to that, let us understand what are these "enclaves" which the two countries will be exchanging?

Enclaves are small pockets of land belonging to a country which are completely surrounded by land of another country. The most common enclave in a way is the Vatican City which is completely surrounded by Italy. India has about 106 enclaves inside Bangladesh while Bangladesh has 92 enclaves inside India. It results in infiltration and extreme inconvenience to the people living inside these enclaves. To make it more complex, 24 of these enclaves are actually "enclaves inside enclaves"! These enclaves came into being around 300 years ago during wars between the Mughals and the King of Cooch Behar. Mughals won over certain regions but could not defeat certain local Cooch Behar Jamindars from their lands; similarly Cooch Behar King defeated Mughal forces but could not evict their soldiers from certain pockets and hence by the time a treaty was made, these enclaves came into being. Later, since East Bangladesh went to Pakistan, there could be no solution to this problem because of India-Pakistan rivalry and wars. Now let us see my dilemma about the land-swap deal.

The problem with the land-swap deal is that India is giving away more land to Bangladesh than she is receiving in return! Although the land size India is losing is only around 40 square kms. But still, our "mother India" is going to become smaller and it is an emotional issue for the patriotic population.

If we think of pure economics, this decision does not make sense. Why would someone give you a land worth hundred million and ask for another piece of land worth ninety; unless one's life or something extremely critical depended on it? I am sure even in the stone-age human beings did not do "barters" in this manner. So why are we doing it now?

If we think of the two nations, Bangladesh being one of the most densely populated nations needs land more than a big nation like India does. So Bangladesh may be able to gain more than India does by swapping land.

In international politics, such land-swap deals are associated with "monetary compensations". If we have to give some land to Bangladesh in order to simplify matters; we could take compensation. Some news reports say that Bangladesh was ready to pay compensation for the extra land it has to receive, but India said she won't take any. It displays a kind of "Big Brother" approach India naturally plays in the region. Although, India seems to have been blind eye towards how Bangladeshi political parties use the same "Big Brother syndrome" to build a public anger against India (to garner votes)! India sees such large heart gestures as her natural role; but the same largess is seen with suspicion amidst conspiracy theories about India being a ‘hidden aggressor’! So far India's foreign policies have not done anything to quell these fears. India could have been less emotional and more economics driven in order to appear like a neutral force in the region. But maybe then India won’t be like India!

There is another concern about the deal according to which more than fifty thousand villagers from both sides will be given an option to choose nationalities. I guess logically more people will choose to become part of India (since it is more economically prosperous), resulting in increase in population which is undesirable. There should have been a better way to identify nationalities.

I know that we can't really blame PM Narendra Modi government for this decision. In the past many other PMs including Indira Gandhi tried to do the same deal with Bangladesh but failed. PM Modi in a way is exerting his "strong" image when he is solving a "300 years old problem" which all past governments failed to solve. Still, India giving away more land than it receives does not make sense to me. 

I also understand that Indian governments “gifting away” lands to other nations is not new. Way back in 1974, Indira Gandhi virtually gifted an island of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. In an article titled “Island Lost” (S. Raja, New Indian Express, 10 Sep, 2013) for example, the journalist writes that Indira Gandhi gifted away the island as if it were her “family silver”. So perhaps Bangladesh deal’s loss is not a first or nothing new; still I think it is not a rational decision. I call it a failure of India’s diplomacy rather than success of it. 

My solution is simple. If India accepts monetary compensation for the lost land, it will not be enough. It will appear like a nation is "selling" land for money. I think Bangladesh should make up for the loss India is incurring by exchanging enclaves. Give us another forty square kilometers anywhere along the border you find suitable. Is this too much to demand?

What do you think about it? Let me know through your comments.

Will Nestle Do a Cadbury or Coke with its Maggi?

Maggi, a popular brand of noodles, was recently found to contain high content of lead and other harmful chemicals. Maggi is a Nestle product; the company is headquartered in Switzerland. If you compare this fiasco with anything else in the past, we can remember two other cases easily - when Cadbury chocolates were found to contain "worms" (year 2003) and Coca Cola and Pepsi soft drinks were found to contain high levels of "pesticides" (year 2006)! Guess what is similar between Nestle, Cadbury and Coke? All are foreign companies selling in India. And during the current controversy over Maggi, what do you think Nestle management must be planning? If I see history, I guess that would be - a new PR campaign!

I think what must be giving comfort to Nestle is the fact that others like it have been able to successfully rehabilitate themselves after their life-threatening fiascos. Indians, who pride themselves of keeping highest standards of hygiene and purity in matters of food, it seems, don't mind keep eating chocolates with worms and soft drinks with pesticides; so why will they behave differently with noodles?

Amitabh Bachchan must be quick in denying anything fishy in campaigning for lead-infested Maggi noodles, but do you know how he played a pivotal role in “rehabilitating” Cadbury after the "worm controversy"? Yes, that is correct - when Cadbury launched a PR campaign to win back customers incensed over worms, Amitabh was a pivotal part of the advertising campaign. Till date, people remember the biggest cine star of India dancing on TV to sell some chocolates. "Kuchh meetha ho jaye?" It seems we have forgotten about worms as if those never happened… Celebrities may not have direct role in promoting ‘bad’ products, after all they also promote so many other ‘good’ products, but we can't deny how clever marketers use them to win back their lost market share - which in the long term sets a bad precedence.

I know there is an undercurrent prevalent in Indian society, though it gets weaker day-by-day. According to it, the foreign companies and MNCs keep double standards - one for the developed countries and another for the so called "third world". We can't deny there are reasons behind such thinking - till a few years ago, a lot of items like toothpastes by foreign companies did not carry an "expiry date" exclusively when selling in India (and perhaps countries like India). Things have certainly improved over time, but now there is another popular theory, especially among the young educated population – due to which people keep supporting foreign brands even though serious violations are done by those. The basic ideology is that a foreign company from a developed country can "never" do something wrong! Both approaches are extreme and I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

If Maggi wins back its market share even after compromising its product quality, will it be only by a repeat of Cadbury or Cola-Pepsi like clever marketing campaigns, or will it be by rediscovering quality control and by firing people responsible for the lowdown? Only time would tell. But the bottom line is clear - Indian consumers are being taken for a ride and the earlier we wake up, the better for us.

Mass Insurance Schemes by Modi Government

I hope you would have heard about the new social security schemes including two mass insurance schemes launched by our central government [Ref]. 

1. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana: Accident insurance
2. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana: Life insurance
3. Atal Pension Yojana: Pension plan

I have gone through the policy details and find that the insurance schemes are very good. I suggest you can consider these policies and subscribe for both insurance schemes, unless you are already sufficiently insured. 

One major benefit is its simplicity. Premium will be auto-debited from the bank account, so it will continue forever (as long as you have sufficient balance).

Currently almost all banks are providing subscription facility by sending SMS. These policies can be taken from any bank but SMS details of all banks are different. SMS details for ICICI (to be sent from registered mobile number) are as follows:

PMSBY NOMINEE NAME Y --> Send to 5676766 (Accident insurance; premium Rs 12)

PMJJY NOMINEE NAME Y --> Send to 5676766 (Life insurance; premium Rs 330)

I confirmed from the branch and they informed that since policy is effective from June 1st for those who send sms by May 31st, policy document will be ready in about 15 days after June 1st and we shall be able to download it from ICICI Bank website, perhaps from insurance tab.

If you heard PM Modi on TV speaking from Bengal while launching it; the main attraction of this insurance policy is that it can be taken by anyone, even by a person on deathbed or having a terminal illness. This is how this policy is different! Mainly because it is launched by govt.

I think claim process will be similar to the ones we have for other insurance policies; we have to contact the insurance company.

Someone asked if it matters which bank we take the policy from. From what I have read, this will indeed make a different, as a customer friendly or unfriendly bank or its associated general insurance company will behave with us like they behave with other customers – customers of this scheme won’t be treated differently or preferentially.

Someone asked if these polices have any drawback. The only concern as it appears is that suppose there is a Govt change at the center after 5 years and next govt discontinues it- then what happens. But since both these schemes are kind of term insurance, i.e. you get insurance until you keep paying premium, even if it covers us for 5 years; what do we lose? We don’t lose anything but we are insured for the years it is active in case of any eventuality. So I think we should definitely subscribe since both are at very cheap rate of premium.

Also, while Atal Pension Yojna/plan is only for unorganized sector; insurance schemes are for all. Because pension and insurance are different. People in the organized sector already have either PF or pension and hence don’t need Atal pension plan. But when it comes to insurance, both organized and unorganized sector employees lack it – also because regular insurance is costly; and hence govt launched these two insurance schemes which are for all no matter in organized or unorganized sector…

My recommendation is that we should definitely take these policies (if we meet the eligibility).

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. 

Society: Less Smoking but More Drinking

Someone said that these days a new trend is being seen in weddings. Earlier, cigarettes were presented to ‘baratis’ while alcoholic drinks were never served and the drinkers had to find some secluded places to have it. But these days cigarettes are not served and is looked at as something bad, but alcoholic drinks are being served to guests without any shame!

I think it basically reflects a battle between cigarette industry lobby Vs alcohol industry lobby. The later pays more taxes than the former and hence govts are more tolerant towards it. A big trend is that Cigarette industry is losing its power to control public opinion and govts decision.

If you think about it, the more common or cheaper is an addictive product, and hence more poorer people use it, govt is more freely trying to ban such products. E.g. Paan Masala is cheapest – it is banned in many states. Bidis are next cheapest – banned in many places. Cigarettes are next and hence Govts can afford to discourage it. Alcoholic drinks are costliest in the lot and hence Govts will allow it.

Also, because rich people have more empathy towards other rich people and most politicians in Govts are rich or become rich by the time they have power.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.

Book of Short Stories: 'Mutthi Bhar Akshar'

Happy to share with you that my short-stories are included in just published book 'मुट्ठी भर अक्षर'. This is the first time my prose or stories are published. Before this my Hindi poems were published in two books.

'Mutthi Bhar Akshar' is a Hindi Short-Stories collection of 30 writers. It has total 180 short stories written on various aspects of society. I am sure all writers combine to make this book a great read.

It is available at Infibeam.com: http://www.infibeam.com/Books/mutthi-bhar-akshar-hindi-vivek-kumar/9789384419141.html

Also available at Flipkart.com: http://www.flipkart.com/item/9789384419141 

(I am in third row from top; third from left)

Book review published in Lokmat Samachar, Pune, on 13 May’15:

You can order the book online on Infibeam at this link at discounted price; or else buy it from Flipkart.com at this link. 

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.