Kismat Konnection

Do you feel that you are really Lucky?

Not many would answer in affirmative to this question. For it is either the nature of humans that they never feel they are lucky enough. Or it is the nature of Life that it will never give one an opportunity to feel that way. Or both.

If you feel that you are really lucky, then - Lucky You!!! Cherish your blessing!

But if you feel you are not really that lucky, that things never come as easily to you as they do for some lucky souls, then hold on... Here is a thought for you. What if life, or destiny, or fate, or God, or whatever you choose to call it - what if it gave you difficulties in life solely based on your inner strength and your ability to cope with it?

If that was true, then, the fact that you mostly face difficult situations in life means that you are internally strong and capable enough to face them and surmount those hurdles. It means that you are stronger than the "Lucky" people you might so envy...

This also means that, when faced with difficult situations, you should not give up easily (which does not mean you should never ever give up, because wisdom says that it is important to know when to really give up as against when to keep going). Because, the fact that life / destiny / God put you in this difficult situation means that it deemed you capable enough to face that situation... So don't give up easily. Chances are, you are strong and capable enough to come out of the bad situation with flying colours...

Can the Lalbaugcha Raja controversies be avoided? - my humble opinion

Every year, Lalbaugcha Raja, the most famous Sarvajanik Ganapati Mandal in Mumbai, attracts some controversy or another. This year was no different. Today, I stumbled across a shocking news article claiming that a Woman was thrashed by lady cops at Lalbaugcha Raja.

The article shocked me because I had an entirely different experience when I visited Lalbaugcha Raja this Saturday (26/09/2015)

To set the record straight, while I am a devotee of Ganapati Bappa, I am no big fan of the Ganapati Festival. The ecological impact of it is against my ideologies. And it is my personal belief that God is omnipresent. I believe that my prayers will reach Bappa, whether I pray to Him at Lalbaug, or at my home. So I have never ever been to Lalbaug. But this year, my wife, a devout believer of Lord Ganesha, really wished to visit Lalbaugcha Raja. And as every married man will tell you, no ideal, however strong, can hold sway against the wishes of one's better half.

So we decided to visit Lalbaug this year. I had already heard the horror stories - long queues, 5 to 8 hours waiting time, hordes of devotees, unruly crowds, arrogant organizers. So I was very apprehensive. Especially because my mother decided to accompany us. She suffers from Arthritis, and I was not sure how she would be able to cope with the long wait and the huge crowds.

We got up at 4:30 am, left home by 6:00 and reached Lalbaug by 7:00. Asking around for the way to the Mukh Darshan Line, we were directed through a cordoned off area by helpful police officers. We were all in a haste to get into the line quickly, and in that haste, my mother stumbled and fell. Before I could even lend her a helping hand, we were quickly surrounded by 3-4 policemen (including lady constables), some fellow devotees and few organizers. With all the helping hands and encouraging words, my mother was soon back on her feet. A policeman vacated his seat and asked my mother to please take some rest. An organizer pointed me to a direction at the back and said they had first aid available there. But my mother would have none of it. Holding her and walking slowly, we joined the Mukh Darshan Line. As we made slow but steady progress, the giant statue of Ganapati Bappa soon came into view, with the morning sun streaming down it's golden rays from above the pandal roof. I am no religious person but it was a sight to behold.

The Mukh Darshan line (or lines, for it was like wave after wave of people) was crowded, but organized and calm. People were taking photographs of Lalbaugcha Raja. And there were shouts of "Ganapati Bappa Morya" every few minutes.

We got the Darshan in 15 minutes flat! A lot of people who visit Lalbaug every year, claim that we were very lucky indeed.

And now when I read the news article today, I wonder what went wrong. I found the policemen and the organizers very cooperative when we visited Lalbaug. Why would they be so rude to this lady?

The video shows only what the police did to the lady. It casts no light on what instigated the police to be so harsh with her. If one reads the article carefully, it clearly states the police version of the story: "The footages which have gone viral show only one side of the story – what happened inside the gate. But, in her attempt to get inside, Goswami misbehaved with those cops. She had been threatening them that she is a black belt in karate and had been abusing the three women constables constantly. So, the three women cops got angry and took her to the police station."

So the woman was rude to the police. But that does not give them the right to man-handle and assault her? As Mugdha Kapoor states in her article "Nothing, absolutely nothing, gives the cop the right to so brutally thrash someone." I would have completely agreed with her, but for my better experience at Lalbaug on Saturday.

Please bear with me for a while and read on, before you troll me. Lets look at it from the point of view of Police and the Organizers.

They are working around the clock, under severe pressure, day in and day out. Their orders are clear. Avoid any mishaps, accidents and threats. Its no small responsibility. The Wikipedia article about Lalbaugcha Raja claims that "over 1.5 million people visit this Ganesh Pandal daily". If this figure is to be believed, it means that on an average, nearly 62500 devotees visit every hour (taking into consideration all 24 hours of the day), i.e. about 1042 devotees every minute, i.e. about 17-18 persons visiting the pandal every second. Considering that it takes about 3-5 seconds to take Bappa's Darshan and move on, the organizers are tasked with moving away 52-86 people every 3-5 seconds. This is no joke. It is an organizational and security nightmare. We are aware that fatal accidents are common due to panic and stampede at pilgrimages and religious places. Happens every year someplace or the other, not only in India but throughout the world. The policemen and the organizers have the massive task of avoiding such a mishap. While we are busy enjoying the festival, these guys are tasked with long and tension-filled duties. Under such pressurizing circumstances, frayed nerves can lead to violent reactions. 

That does not give them the right to raise hands on the common man. I agree. But as the article states, the lady misbehaved with the police. The video does not show what the lady said that incited such violent reaction from the police. But the pressure under which they are working, they are bound to snap some time or another. I understand that standing in line for hours and hours, watching VIPs getting preferential treatment, can be a very frustrating ordeal. Which is probably what pushed the poor lady to be rude and abusive with the police constables. But standing guard over such a huge crowd can be a very trying ordeal too. As Lee Child says in Nothing to Lose: "A crowd (big enough)... was the largest animal on the face of the earth. The heaviest, the hardest to control, the hardest to stop". And the police and the organizer have to deal with a massive, sometimes unruly crowd every day for 10 days. Can we claim that we have never snapped like this in crowded local trains or buses? It is human. As human as the lady getting angry after a grueling long wait in the line. 

When we visited the pandal, it was not very crowded (comparatively speaking). So the organizers and the police were at their best behaviour. If the crowd is small and manageable, then even these public and voluntary servants will be able to give their best.

I am not condoning the assault done by the Police on the poor lady. But all I am saying is they are human too and such things happen. It is not entirely their mistake. It is also the mistake of so many devotees that visit the pandal every year.

If you are a devotee of Ganapati Bappa, please pardon me for any atheistic comments that follow. But is it really mandatory to visit Lalbaugcha Raja every year? Is it not true that Ganapati Bappa resides in the heart of every true devotee? Then why the insistence on visiting Lalbaugcha Raja every year? If you visited one year, then give it a pass for 2-3 consecutive years. Let other newbee devotees enjoy the Bappa's darshan with lesser hassles and under better conditions. It would be a great act of charity on your part and would really help out your fellow die-hard devotees of Lalbaugcha Raja. It would also help the police and the organizers to better serve and manage the crowd if it is smaller in size. If everyone follows this simple rule, then I hope and feel that Lalbaugcha Raja will not be a center of controversies that it is purported to be every year...

Don't Panic!

"It is said that despite its many glaring (and occasionally fatal) inaccuracies, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy itself has outsold the Encyclopedia Galactica because it is slightly cheaper, and because it has the words "DON'T PANIC" in large, friendly letters on the cover." - from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

9:38 am... A week day. I am on my way to the office.

I am running late. ("running" being the word that would best describe the activity I am trying to do at that very moment)

I have to catch the 9:43 Andheri Local. Sweating, panting, with limbs aching from exertion they are not used to, I reach the railway station only to realize that I just missed my Andheri train. How bloody consistent. The indicator says the next train is 9:50 Churchgate (Slow). I have to catch this one. Otherwise I will be late for sure. 

I scramble up the escalator, running up the ascending stairs past other passengers (for once the escalator isn't blocked). I dash across the foot-over bridge, as fast as my typical couch-potato-figured torso will allow. And try to descend with paramount haste, the staircase which would lead me to my destination platform. The railway station is undergoing renovation, and one of the staircases has been blocked. So everyone has to use this single staircase. People are ascending from one side, descending from the other. There is bottle-neck at both the ends of the staircase... I curse the railway authorities as I am forced to tread slowly, caught in the throng of people descending in a single file... Every other second I am watching for any signs of the oncoming train...

Finally I reach the platform before the train does... A big WHEW (in caps and bold and italic too)

Spectacles, mobile phone and wallet safely tucked away in the shoulder bag, I await the train... As the train arrives, my body goes rigid. I travel by train everyday. And yet, every time I see the crowd of passengers hanging out the doors, a sudden inexplicable panic grabs hold of me. The fact that I have to get in, at one side of the compartment (the portside, if I could borrow the nautical term), and get down at the other side (the starboard side) in Andheri, all within a span of 7-10 minutes, does not give me any comfort. Instead it adds to my already mounting panic.

As the train slows down, the people hanging at the door start jumping out. By the time the train has stopped, we rush to the door. Very few people (comparatively speaking) get down here. Thus there is very little space to accommodate the many passengers like me who are about to board the train. I rush along with all the herd, and get in (another big WHEW!). And stop right there...

The train is already crammed with so many couch potatoes and their sacks, just like me. And we are all stuck somewhere near the portside door of the compartment where we got in. As is usually my custom, I ask the guy right in front of me whether he is going to get down at Andheri. But unlike most other times, the guy says No. My panic rides up another notch. I ask him to give me some space so I can crawl ahead. He shifts a little. I push a little. But the train's too crowded. I can hardly manage any headway. Then I ask another person ahead and to the right of me. He has headphones stuffed up his damned ears. I ask him multiple times, but I might as well be asking a mannequin. 

Now my panic is threatening to burst out the compartment ceiling... What if these two idiots in front of me don't move and I am unable to get down? There are people behind me asking (at the top of their voices I might add) whether I would be getting down at Andheri. Their panic adds to mine... I start struggling to find some leeway to move ahead... A tiny inch here, a little gap there... But to no avail... I turn this way, then I turn that. My bulky sack slung over each shoulder and perched ahead of me like a Baby Carrier isn't helping my struggle at all. One of the two idiots (the one not impaired by the headphones on his ears) starts grumbling. But I would not have it. My panic would not allow me to rest...

Finally someone behind me starts yelling at me to stop struggling. I turn around. My panic is about to give way to read-hot anger. But the guy has softened his voice and is now trying to convince me that struggling will not help me at all. Lot of people will get down at Andheri. If anyone comes in between, we will all push him and make way to get down at the station. Not to worry. I am tempted to turn back and answer him that it is not just for my benefit, but for theirs too, that I am going to all this trouble... But I let it pass. What's the use? Instead I just let go of all my steam... Just like that... Like someone deflated  a balloon that was me. I go slack. I loosen my hold on the hand-bars. My breathing slows down a little... It takes some time for my anger to simmer down. And with it, my panic too...

And sure enough, with quite a bit of struggle, a big push here, a huge shove there, panting, grunting, sweating and swearing, I do manage to get down at Andheri railway station... A huge WHEW!...

As I walk towards the Bus stop, I mull over my lesson learned today... Panic is inevitable in everyday pressures. Worries about bad things that may happen add to it. But giving in to panic does not help in any way. I remember what Mark Twain had once said: "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened". What a truly perceptive observation. An how aptly it related to my situation today... Then and there I decided that I would learn how to stop worrying and start living, even if I never get a chance to read the book by Dale Carnegie...

With this little nugget of wisdom, I make my way towards the bus stop. I can see the bus standing there. Everyone has already boarded it. Its about to move. Can't let that happen! What if the next bus comes in late? Can't afford to miss this bus. As the bus begins to leave the stop, with mounting panic, I start running...

The Anthem

14 August...
A Friday...
Independence Day celebration in our office...

No, we are not Pakistanis. Our office is in Mumbai, and we are all very much Indian, thank you...
But next day would be a Saturday. The blessed weekend...
And what's the point of calling it an "Independence Day" if we are asked to report to office on that day, especially if it's a Saturday?

So we were celebrating our Independence Day one day in advance. Tri-coloured balloons hung from the ceiling. Little paper flags, that we all found placed at our desks in the morning, now adorned everyone's chests. A small flag was hoisted on a makeshift little pole in our lobby. (And I am sure the same must have been true for almost every office in India. Being Patriotic appears to have become a fashion nowadays, I think. The enthusiasm with which offices everywhere celebrate the event one day in advance proves this, does it not? Otherwise, why not just let everyone celebrate the Independence Day in their own independent ways on the actual day itself? Why does it have to be an office event?)

Our HR sent us a broadcast to please stand up together at 12 noon, and sing the National Anthem to honour the upcoming Independence Day.

12 noon came and went, and nothing happened. Maybe they were planning to play the national anthem on the office speakers but were unable to do so due to some glitch. So another broadcast told us that the event was postponed till 12:30.

As the small hand of the clock pointed upwards and the larger one pointed straight down, we got the final broadcast to please stand up and start singing, pronto.

Most of us, busy earning our daily bread, were caught off-guard. It was nearly a full minute before, one by one, we all stood up...

And just remained standing like that... 

I was looking at the guy opposite me. He looked at me briefly. Then looked down at his desk. Everyone was looking around, or some were trying not to. Some looked confused, some amused. We all were waiting for someone to start singing. And we would all follow suit...

But no one began singing... The dumb silence stretched on for more than a minute. It was as if we were standing in silence paying our respect at someone's sad demise. I almost felt like laughing. But the very next moment I felt guilty about it. I was nearly red in my face. I wanted to start singing, but couldn't find the guts. I don't know why... Finally my neighbour got frustrated and sat down. Some of us followed suit. I whispered to my neighbour "What was that about? Shouldn't we be singing??" A student of the same "Old School" as I am, his frustration was clear as he said "Someone should have at least started..."

Finally something came over me. Before I could lose my suddenly discovered modicum of courage, I said, "Come on, at lease we should start..." We both got up. Most of my colleagues were still standing. I looked at my neighbour. But he stayed silent. So I let go of my qualms and started singing. And everyone followed suit. It was like a balloon had burst...

Once upon a time, we used to sing the Anthem with a pride in our voices (this was more than two decades back when I was in school). Standing at attention, backs ramrod straight. Words used to flow out of our mouths loud and clear. Time was when I knew each and every word by heart. Today, I don't remember a few words. And I am sure same is the case with my colleagues. For we were all mumbling the Anthem, not really singing it out like we meant to with our whole hearts. Voices were subdued, words unclear. All of us couch potatoes, standing with slack backs and a slumped lazy posture... It was like we were performing just another ritual - doing it for the sake of doing it.

We finished singing the Anthem, and as I sat back, I considered what had happened. I mean its our "National Anthem", for crying out loud. Should we not be proud of it? Proud enough to sing it naturally and without hesitation? We don't mind sharing conspiracy theories about it over the social media. We don't mind being forced to sing it every time we go to the Cinema Halls, for no good reason at all. But why do we feel so hesitant to begin singing our own National Anthem???

A nation of opportunists...

Our nation is a nation of opportunists. In a capitalistic economy that's a good thing. No wonder we have so many successful entrepreneurs, not only in our country, but all over the world. We manage to make do (i.e. do "jugaad", to borrow that famous desi term for "make do") where others would give up and go on a pilgrimage. Which makes us the pioneers of Jugaad Innovation that's been fueling our economic growth.

But this opportunism comes with a price - death of Morality.

Since we Indians associate a lot to the term Morality (including adhering to age old traditional beliefs and values), let us set the record straight by defining the term Morality. When I asked Google Baba, I got the following Aakashwani: "Morality (from the Latin moralitas "manner, character, proper behavior") is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good or right and those that are bad or wrong." This is the morality I am referring to here - "to do the right and to avoid the wrong"

Here is one of the incidents that prompted me to write this blog. We have 3 lifts in the building where our office is located. Out of that, 1 lift is off-limits for us, the Common Man of India. (It is reserved for the exclusive use of employees of a Japanese firm on 6th and 8th floors. Rumour has it - and I heard it from a lift-man - that they are paying 3 times the money to the building management. Another great example of "Jugaad" at work here in India...) So we have the liberty to use only two remaining lifts. Sometimes, one of these 2 lifts breaks down. (Point to be noted that the 3rd lift - the one for exclusive use of the Japanese company - never ever breaks down. Only conclusion I can draw is that the Japanese must be very lucky indeed.) When this happens, we are left at the mercy of a single lift. One lift for 5 floors. During peak hours, you will find so many people waiting at the door of the single lift, attracted to it like bees to honey. On one such day, I was waiting there with so many others for the lift. As the lift arrived, we all rushed in helter-skelter, irrespective of who had arrived first. There was a pregnant lady standing right behind me. We were 3rd and 4th to arrive and wait for the lift. By all rights, she should have got the opportunity to board the lift. But people simply rushed past her and the lift was quickly jam packed. She just kept staring in - confused. People just kept staring out at her - dispassionately and shamelessly. I stepped out and offered her my place in the lift. But she declined. Being pregnant, she couldn't squeeze in to the little space I had left behind in there. No one else stepped out. Finally the lift doors closed on both of us. I took the stairs leaving her behind to wait for the lift to arrive again...

This situation repeats itself every now and then. It happened today too. This time, I was left staring as people who had arrived after me rushed into the lift before I could even bat an eyelid. Right there in front of the lift-man who had been standing outside and monitoring the queue. His monitoring was certainly useless. I was so angry, I nearly shouted at the lift-man. As I mounted the stairs two at a time, my blood still boiling, I realized that it was not the lift-man's mistake. It is not his job to monitor queue discipline. It was the problem with us, the Common Man. We will break the queue whenever we get an opportunity to.

Under unsupervised conditions, queue discipline is virtually unknown in India. We will try to break the queue whenever and wherever we can. We require someone with authority to supervise us. You will observe this behaviour almost everywhere.

And this is not just confined to queue-breaking. If you observe carefully this behaviour is prevalent in almost every aspect of our lives. We will grab an opportunity, irrespective of whom we are stepping over to grab it. Seat-nabbing in the trains, rash driving on the roads in traffic, queue-breaking in ticket booking offices, corruption in government offices and in courts, politics and malpractices in corporate offices - such behaviour can be observed everywhere.

For a country that boasts such a rich cultural and religious heritage, we exhibit a strange, almost sick disregard for Morality. The so called "Moral Policing" is so rampant. And yet doing the right thing is never on our list of priorities.

Is this a trait that has evolved into our populace over the years? Or is it a byproduct of over-population - where the intense competition and lack of resources is pushing us to silence the little voice of conscience that always warns us before doing something wrong?

Placing all the apples in the same basket would be unfair on my part. First and foremost,  adhering to any sort of moral standard is completely a personal choice. And it is certainly not easy. There is no simple black and white. The thin line between right and wrong can be very difficult to discern. Usually, it is not everyone who break the rules. Its just one desperate person. But if no one takes any action to stop him, he not only gets away with breaking the rules, he benefits from it... And no one stops him. The present day Metropolitan would be best known for his apathy towards fellow humans (If there is an accident, everyone would crowd around and stand by, capturing all the gory details on mobile. But no one would come ahead to help.) So the wrong-doer gets away with his misdeeds. And when others see this, they quickly follow suit. I mean, its human nature right? Why should I be unfair to my own self-interests in order to be fair to others? Over time, such an attitude has become so prevalent, has so permeated the fabric of our daily life and culture, that we take it for granted. If someone becomes successful, our first assumption is that he must have broken the law to do it. An average Indian has more faith in the benefits of twisting the law, than in the fruits of hard work. If something comes easy, why struggle for it? And the few idealistic fools who question it, who still adhere to the age-old values of fairness and morality, are left behind wondering what their world has come to?

Random musing harvested from stray thought-bubbles...

How good you are in something, or how high you reach in some field, depends on how much of your personal time and energy you spent on doing that thing of your choice, sacrificing other things, necessary or trivial, in your life...

A good listener is the one who uses both his ears - one for Input, the other for Output...

Sometimes the only way to find something is to stop searching for it desperately

When did invention get replaced with innovation?

When you love someone, the most difficult thing is to not care too much

When opportunity knocks at your door, open the door and tell it to please use the door bell next time...

Why is it that well-wishing Married friends crib about their married lives on one hand, and, at the same time, recommend that you too should get married soon?

Why is it that we realize the value of something only when we are about to be lose it?

It is important to judge a person, not by who he is, but by who he is striving to become...

Why is it that the more you try to save money, the more it eludes you?

Where is my Freedom?

What is freedom? What does it mean to be free?

In 1947, our country, India, acquired freedom from the British Raj. Nearly 68 years have passed. Are we really free??

Think about it. You go to watch a movie. Maybe with your girlfriend. Maybe with your wife. Maybe with your kids, your entire family. Or maybe with friends?

Anyways. You land up at one of those fancy Multiplexes. Of course. How many movie theaters are still running in your city? The theaters are dinosaurs. They are as good as extinct. So do you really have a choice but go to a Multiplex?

Anyways. You bought the tickets. You landed up shelling out anywhere from Rs 150 to Rs 350 or maybe even more depending on the movie and the timing...

Then you proceed to the security counter. They check your tickets. That's why they are there, right? Then they proceed to check your bags. You kindly oblige. Its a question of your security. But wait. You are carrying some sweets given by your relatives whom you were visiting before coming to the movie. Or your wife is carrying some foodstuff you bought from the market before coming here. Or one of your family members has a medical condition that requires you carry some eatables for emergencies.

No matter whatever your reasons. Out it comes...

The security guards are not really concerned about bombs or guns or harmful stuff. No no. They are concerned about you carrying in food stuff. You are kindly asked to deposit your foodstuff with them. "Kindly asked" translated to them simply picking the stuff out of your bag and unceremoniously dumping it at their counter.

If you protest they will point out that its as per their rules. Maybe its even printed on your tickets in font small enough to require a fucking microscope to read. "Its the Management's Orders" they say. You have a very simple choice. Either you keep your foodstuff here and enjoy the movie. Or out you go. Irrespective of the fact that you shelled out a whopping 250 bucks per head for the damn movie. If you wish to watch the movie you have to play by their rules.

You have already spent your money. What choice do you have?

In you go. You flash your tickets and sit down and bear with the damn commercials for nearly 10 minutes. Finally the commercials end. And the movie is about to begin. And as you stand up like everyone else, while they play the national anthem, you mull over whether you are really free???

During interval, you step out. Your girlfriend would like to munch some popcorn. Or your wife would like some cold drinks. Or your family member - the one with the medical condition - requires to eat something. So you head to those fancy food counters. You will shell out 150-250 for a tub of popcorn, or 100-200 for a glass of aerated flavoured sugar water they call cold-drinks. Or 100 - 200 for a couple of samosas. Maybe 150-250 for a simple sandwich... And if you are still thinking straight, you will wonder again, whether you are really free?

Is it freedom, when you have no say in what you wish to eat? Is it freedom when you are denied the fundamental right to carry food - certainly a non-security-threat item - into the movie hall? Is it freedom when, thus stripped off of the choice to carry your own food, you are forced to buy food at rates nearly 5 to 20 times what they would cost you outside for the same food items? Is it really freedom when you have to forego your fundamental rights in this way, even after paying so exorbitantly for mere entertainment?

But wait. You are still free right? You still have the freedom to make a choice. You can choose not to go... You mull over this. Maybe it sounds all wacky. Or maybe it makes perfect sense to you... Whatever the case. The next time you, or your loved ones pine for some entertainment, off you go, relinquishing your freedom to watch a movie and be entertained. You are still free to make a choice. And you chose entertainment over freedom... Isn't freedom a wonderful thing?