Aragorn

India held back - II: Quis Custodes Ipsos Custodiet? ("Who guards the guards?") - the Indian Judicial system

2006-07-18T22:56:00.000+05:30

As a part of my small attempt to understand why our nation (country rather – we are not a nation anyways – more on that in another post!) is held back from achieving our potential, I had written about the menace of corruption. Today, as the second part in that series, I will attempt to briefly examine one of the key aspects of the problem – the judicial system. Before I proceed any further, however, I should make it clear that this is the situation as I see it; being a lay person and one of the average citizens of this country, my understanding of law and its complexities is limited to whatever research I could google up. Consequently, I have addressed this issue in fairly layman terms – without recourse to legalese. Any opinions/clarifications or even factual corrections from seasoned advocates and jurists are welcome – indeed, desirable.

The recent spate of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) and the stictures passed against the Executive and/or Legislature in various cases have been whole-heartedly welcomed by Indians at large. Indeed, India might probably be the only country in the world where the Supreme Court can take suo motu cognizance of public matters or even act on letters written to the Chief Justice.

At a fundamental level, the Indian State has three arms – or pillars if you will; the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. The Legislature is directly accountable to the people, while the Executive is accountable to the Legislature, and thus, indirectly to the people. In fact, due to its very nature, the Executive (i.e. The Government) is often directly held accountable by the people since it has the responsibility of implementing the decisions of the Legislature and the directions of the Judiciary, and consequently, is the one directly in contact with the people at large. The raison d’etre of the Judiciary is to act as a check on the functioning of the other two arms.

At this point, I would suggest reading this comment written by Justice V N Khare, former Chief Justice of India. (http://www.freeindiamedia.com/current_affairs/27_march1_06.htm). He has raised a number of issues regarding the judicial system, and as a former Chief Justice, I guess he knows what he is saying! (To give you a contrarian opinion though, please go through this as well : Swapan Dasgupta’s piece on Justice Khare’s retirement (http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/may/10swadas.htm). I will touch upon what I think are some other things that urgently need resolving.

One major problem – which Justice Khare has not pointed out in his comment - is that the judiciary is not accountable to the people. You and I as lay citizens cannot go and question a Judge for not hearing cases or for being inefficient or inept; neither can we counter the inordinate delays in the justice delivery process - we just have to be resigned to our fate. We do not know what the KRAs of our judges are, how many cases they are supposed to decide, what has been their performance in this regard, rating of various judges etc. I do not know if the RTI act covers this; though it is pointless since even if it did, there is little relief that we can get – since the judiciary is accountable to itself!

It is indeed true that India faces a tremendous shortage of judges, since the Government has not appointed judges in various places, for whatever reasons – mala fide or sheer incompetence. Newspaper reports put this figure at 3,000 judges in the various courts. However, isn’t it strange to see the courts taking extended vacations in the Summer and for Dussehra, Diwali and Christmas, while simultaneously, there are between 2.2 to 3 crore cases pending in the courts. Surely, we as citizens can question the rationale for sticking to this quaint, British custom in todays’s days? Its like the case that occurred a few years ago when Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid cribbed about the punishing international cricket schedule, and then, when given a longish break by the Board, went abroad and played County cricket!!!

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has about 37,000 pending cases at the end of June 2006. (http://www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in/new_s/pendingstat.htm) However, one look at its vacation calendar (130 days in vacations, public holidays and Sundays) can suggest that by cutting down on the vacations, we can improve the justice delivery mechanism quite significantly.
(http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/new_s/cal.htm). Ditto with the Hon’ble Mumbai High Court. (http://hcbom.mah.nic.in/calender.html)

Another contributor to the inordinate delay in justice delivery is the infinite number of “dates” one gets – it takes many years before a case even comes up for hearing. It is true that the police are extremely and often deliberately lax in investigating criminal cases (Remember Jessica Lal?), and that our public prosecutors (with a few honourable exceptions) are often losers who could not make it to private firms. Consequently, both the arms of the prosecution system can often be influenced – by money or fear or both. Additionally, there is really no incentive for them to do their work honestly – since they can be transferred at the drop of the hat in case they manage to offend their political bosses, while any great work in prosecution may not lend them any advantages! Thus, the courts may be critically hamstrung in criminal cases.

However, in civil cases, the courts must share some of the blame for not being stricter with dilly-dallying plaintiffs or defendants. Justice Khare squarely puts the blame on the Government for this – one in one’s limited experience is not so sure that the Judiciary is entirely blameless.

Let me qualify that lest I run foul of the Contempt of Court Act of 1971. One aspect of the functioning of the courts that I have had an opportunity to observe is the way cases are listed and how new dates are given. Recently, there was a news report (in the Times of India) of a judge having a ridiculous number of cases on his docket for one day (900 it was, I think). Now, however efficient a judge is, there is no way that he can judge 900 cases a day. However, since there are 900 cases listed, you have 900 plaintiffs and 900 defendents turning up at the very least, along with a posse of a few hundred lawyers (some lawyers may be common!). These guys have to hang around the court till the end of the day, when they get the new date for their hearings, since only a few tens of cases are heard. What a waste of time and effort for the lay person – surely, this can be avoided – if, as mentioned earlier, the courts have lesser number of holidays? An even simpler solution is to actually reduce the number of cases listed on the docket to a more manageable number – or maybe taking a recess mid-session to estimate how many cases can really be heard in the remainder of the day and setting up the rest for hearing later?

At this point, let me digress a bit and compare the criminal prosecution system prevalent in many American states. People who watch Hollywood movies or CSI etc. may be aware of the concept of District Attorney. The DA is the Chief prosecutor for a district, and is often an elected official. That means that the most charismatic or popular – and often not the most competent - prosecutor or even lawyer in the district gets elected as DA. The popularity is often a function of results delivered in terms of number of convictions etc.

Now, knowing that he has just won an election, there will naturally be a tendency of aiming to win more important elections in the future – various posts like state representative or senator, Governor and the top prize – the White House. And, since his popularity as DA is decided by his results, there is a natural incentive for the DA to sniff out cases dealing with either the high and mighty of the land, or the most hardened of criminals. A DA managing to successfully prosecute the State Senator or a serial killer would be extremely likely to win higher office. This system thus creates powerful incentives for its prosecutors to go after the high, mighty and powerful, in the hope of reaching there oneself. Contrast this career path with the typical profile of our public prosecutors, and the difference would be stark.

Coming back, while one must readily admit that the cases of corruption in the Judiciary have been few and far between, and that the judiciary is still seen as the last hope for a desperate nation being robbed blind by its legislators, politicians and bureaucrats, no rational observer can claim that the courts have truly lived up to the challenge of acting as an effective balance to the other arms of the State. Delivering justice in spectacular fashion in a handful of PIL cases has won the judiciary laurels, and helped it paper over cracks in the justice delivery mechanism (“Chalo koi to kaam kar raha hai” – that’s been the refrain doing the rounds in recent times). However, delivering justice in the millions of low profile cases the delays in which cause immense heartburn to the common man is the key challenge – one that will in the ultimate analysis decide the utility of our judicial system. Tragically, our judiciary seems nowhere close to tackling it.

India held back - I: The problem of corruption

2006-05-23T21:48:00.000+05:30

As I promised the other day, I would focus on what is holding India back from achieving its true potential. As the first part of this series, what better topic to examine than the one widely identified as the single largest problem facing our country – the problem of corruption.

Corruption, like religion, is a way of life in India. It is unbelievably widespread – so much so that people expect to be demanded money for routine things. In fact, the other day, I chanced to see a blog publishing the standard rates of corruption in Delhi (http://bribedelhi.blogspot.com) – a blog started ostensibly to “create a database for bribe rates for the help of all the delhi-ites. SO next time you go for a job you know before hand how much to expect to bribe”. I do not know too much about the motives of the bloggers; while it seems a cynical means of fighting corruption, I am sure that the objectives indeed are noble.

A recent Times of India edition featured an excellent article on corruption by Swaminathan Iyer, where he suggests that democracy is the reason why India has continued to progress despite having very abysmal record on corruption. In the latest edition of Transparency International, India is ranked 88th on the Corruption Perception Index. This puts us below even newly independent countries like Namibia. Shameful, isn’t it?

While it is a pet peeve of the educated middle class in our country (including me!) to rant against the politicians and the Police and all sundry Government officials for their being corrupt, so we even begin to examine our own role in that? They say that it takes two hands to clap. This also applies to corruption.

Just the other day, I was having a discussion with a friend who claimed that his friend had to bribe a cop 5,000 bucks. He was indeed quite agitated and was venting his spleen against the cop who openly demanded the bribe. My only question to him was – what did you he wrong? Are the police nuts to demand a bribe of someone just like that?

“Namaskar Shreeman. Main Inspector Pandey bol rahan hoon Thane Police Station se. Aaj aab ki kismet khul gayee hai – hamare police bribery lotto mein aap ka naam nikal aaya hai. Kripiya apne najdeeki police station mein jaaiye aur Rs 5,000 bataur ghoos jama kijiye. Aapki sahayta ke liye dhanyawaad”

The reality is that one would have to pay such an insane amount to hush up some big “kaand”. Which means we ourselves are not blameless either – some innocent victims being ripped off by crooks. We are equally culpable. We have committed some crime, and are absolutely unwilling to face the consequences. Why then do we continue to rant against corruption?

There is another type of corruption that does not entail any blame on our part – it is the type one encounters when one tries to get a passport made, or a license verified or the likes. In such cases, isn’t the reason for corruption the fact that we want something done for us out of turn? In that case, doesn’t it become some convenience premium? Is it that radically different from the multiplex vendor charging 25 bucks for a 300 ml glass of cola? And even if someone asks us money for just doing their duty, are we not equally reprehensible if we quietly acquiesce in it and pay people off?

The reality is that corruption will continue till we as citizens change our outlook towards the law. It means refusing to pay bribes to officers – either for doing their duty or for not doing it. It means being willing to stand in queue for things. It means being honest in our personal dealings. Can we as a nation start doing this?

The futility of hero - worship

2006-04-14T17:52:00.000+05:30

Today is Good Friday, a religious festival for Christians the world over. However, in a strictly literal sense, it is not a good Friday for the families of at least 8 people in Bangalore, the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. For these are the unfortunate souls who died in the violence following the death of Dr. Rajkumar - one of the doyens of South Indian cinema and an icon for Kannadigas - in another manifestation of the shameful, immature hero-worship

Hero worship in India is not new. For ages now, Indians have been worshipping mere mortals as the avatars of God, or as God himself. Nothing unique in that; after all, the major dividing point between Islam, Judaism and Christianity revolves precisely around that – the role of Jesus and whether he was a mortal, a messiah or the Son of God. It is not my brief to question people’s faith; what I intend to do is to point out the deleterious effects to society of letting it rule over one’s judgment.

Hero worship – be it of the religious kind or the idolatry kind – can have extremely serious consequences if allowed to carry on unchecked. In India, it is also a deeper symptom of social malaise. Here, people often take recourse to cricket or movies as an escape from the rigmarole of day-to-day living – a release from the drudgery of a punishing, impoverished existence. A large number of people live in appalling conditions, with the Government and society at large totally oblivious to their lot. These people face the worst side of the government machinery – the limitless corruption of the bureaucracy, the extortion and physical abuse by the police, and the cynical exploitation by the political class – all things that they often wish to smash with their bare hands – a la Dharmendra – but cannot. This leads to a tremendous amount of frustration and anger, which couple with the bottled up energy from lack of opportunities can lead to an explosive combination.

This tension brewing within the self seeks release in the movies and in crickets. Often, this release is found through fantasizing. An Amitabh Bachchan thrashing up villains, a Dharmendra promising to “drink theb blood” of the villain, a Sachin Tendulkar dancing down the pitch and lifting Shane Warne for a huge six, Dada doing ditto to Murali – all are as much reality as a projection of people’s fantasies on the mortals in the field. This leads to an increased level of expectation from them, which when even moderately achieved can confer star status on the newest greenhorn.

Till this stage this if fine and indeed, even desirable. However, the problem lies when the admiration turns into hero-worship. At this stage, people refuse to believe that their hero can even be wrong – that he has a full scpectrum of black, white and grey to his personality. It is this that makes Kolkattans feel a sense of anguish on the treatment meted out to Dada. It is this that causes a fan of Salman’s to vow to suffer the same treatment as Salman is in jail.

While some of it is understandable and some downright ludicrous, it is still pretty much benign. The major concern occurs when this hero-worship finds violent means of expressing itself, or turns into sycophancy. Some unfortunate manifestations of this are the “Jihadi” attacks on the orders of a fanatic Osama Bin Laden, the attacks on the media (Zee TV) by Bal Thackeray;s followers on their running a satirical program criticizing him, the rioting by Rajkumar fans on being denied a final glimpse at the mortal remains of one of their hero. And yes, who can forget the immortal image of Congressmen lying prostrate at 10 Janpath, begging Sonia Gandhi to “save the party and the country”.

India has already suffered on account of hero worship gone wrong. Who can forget Rajiv Gandhi’s condoning the anti-Sikh riots by his quote “When a big tree falls, the ground is bound to shake” or Devkant Barua’s “Indira is India and India is Indira”? Or the silence of Nehru on the Jeep scandal? Or his condoning corruption charges against Pratap Singh Kairon? (source: http://www.saag.org/papers3/paper219.htm)

It is time we as a nation grow up and start seeing our film stars, our cricketers and our politicians as mortals, as people subjected to the similar trials and tribulations as any of us. It is time we start demanding that they perform of perish. If it means throwing Sachin Tedulkar out from the Indian team, so be it – and lets be brave enough to say “dropped” and not “rested”. If it means Lata Mangeshkar tries to misuse our regard for her singing prowess to stop a flyover being built, let us ask her to leave (or something a lot less parliamentary!). If it means a Salman kills black bucks, let us be willing to crucify him for it.

It is time we realize that with great power and fame come great responsibility and humility. And ensure that those with great power and fame do behave in a befitting manner.

Chosing a focus...

2006-04-14T17:49:00.000+05:30

After deciding to revive my blog, I figured that it would be a better idea to actually focus on a few subjects rather than make it a general blog. I mean, once in a while, I will definitely post some idiosyncratic comments, but overall, I realize that I am nowhere hot enough to publish “I had coffee at Coffee Day today, where I dropped the cup and it smashed to pieces” and still have oodles of fans salivating at my every word, as one sees so often in blogdom, especially if the blog belongs to an 18 year-old PYT (pretty young thing for the uninitiated!)

Be that as it may, I did some amount of introspection to determine the one topic that I find the most interesting enough to research and share with others. I found that my interests lie in sports, politics, general lukkhagiri, harmonicaq playing et al. But the one thing I love above all is my country.

I am 100% proud to be an Indian. Like most educated Indians of my generation, I do often feel extremely frustrated with the state of affairs here, so much so that the option of quitting it all and going to a phoren land is often very appealing. I mean, look at the potholes in the road, the lack of electricity, the lack of education, the burgeoning population, the torrid heat, the omni-present dust and the omnipotent disease.

But then, the mind also gloats over the things that make this country great – the enterprise of the people, the willingness to work hard at rates people in the developed world scoff at, the readiness to tell loud-mouthed nincompoops how to change their kids diapers, to year them yell the choicest abuses in return, and yet respond with a smile – even though the mind wants to strangle the last living grey cells of the person, and still bear it all with the stoicness that one associates with this country. And at the end of the day, the heart says, so what if some of the things suck? It is still our roads, our electricity, our heat, our dust – our country!

Considering all this, it is but natural that I chose to focus predominantly on things that need to be different, things that are holding us back from achieving our rightful place in the comity of nations, and what we as individuals can do to correct that balance.

I hope I can do even moderate justice to this endeavour, and that my readers do help and encourage me in this regard.

Apologies!

2006-03-19T19:15:00.000+05:30

Well, for all my friends who have been pestering me to either officialy consign my blog to the online equivalent of the cemetery or to make it the online equivalent of the phoenix, I have some good news.

I have decided (and not for the first time!) to revive my blog. Well, like I decide to lose weight, I also frequently decide to revive my blog. But then, there is an intention and then there is an opportunity. For the past two months, I was in Mithapur, working in community development department of Tata Chemicals. My work meant that I had little time and the beauty of the place meant that I have even little intention to write. This time however, I return to the familiar 5 day a week cycle and so, you will hopefully find more from me.

Tata for now...

Uncomfortable Questions II : The Gurgaon incident...

2005-07-28T17:28:00.000+05:30

Anyone who has opened the newspapers in the recent past will be fully aware of the Gurgaon incident - the incident where the Police allegedly used "excessive force" against "hapless, innocent" striking workers of the Honda motor company. Well, it is not my case to argue that the Police were "darling angels" to the striking workers. I mean the levels of brutality were out there to be seen. One of most poignant yet sad moments was to see the police really thrashing the hell out of people lying in a garden. So, letme make it amply clear that I am not here to condone the incident.

However, this would not be an Uncomfortable Questions series article if I didn't raise some, ain't it? Well, the entire incident and the way theIndian Media represented it leaves a lot to be desired. And then add the element of hte politicians coming in - of all hues and colors - and you have a whole jamboree of UQs.

UQ No 1: How come there were 3 - 4000 people who were demonstrating?
The media as well as the Left leaders were all claiming that there were more than 3000 people who were brutally beaten up. Well, if we consider that the Honda motor company professed to have about 1800 employees on its rolls of which about 1700 had gone on strike (again as reported by the Media), then who were the extra 1300 people.

Some employees claimed that these were labour leaders (well one doesnt know what denomination they belong to, but I am guessing that they might have been the Left) who were outsiders and they were the people who were responsible for starting the violence against the Police and the especially brutal thrashing up of a DSP that left both his hands broken

UQ No 2: Did the Indian Media play a responsible role?
Well, I believe the answer to this is an emphatic NO. I saw the news telecast on various channels - and while they rightly focussed on the Police brutality, there was little mention of the thing that flagged it off. The reality is that the Indian Media is supposed to play the role of asking UQs, but the fact is that they went overboard in painting a picture of the Police as a force that had resorted this brutal beating without any provocation. The facts that the meeting was illegal, that it was resorted to without adequately informing the police, that the right to strike is not a fundamental right but bound by a number of provisions (http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/dispute.htm) , the fact that the workers nearly beat a DSP to death and torched three Police vehicles, that even after the incident, the mob attacked the DCP and IG of police - all these did not receive the kind of attention they should have.

The reality is that while the Police were definitely to blame, the striking workers or the political stooges along with them were not doodh ka dhula (squeaky clean) either. But this initiation of violence is just totally and conveniently forgotten.

UQ No. 3: The politicians...
Well, like always, we had politicians of all hues visiting the place in the immediate aftermath of the incident and making the "right" noises about the police brutality. Then like always is the show of meeting the victims to "apply a balm to their wounds". We also had the Left leaders scream hoarse about the suppression of the proletariat and how such an incident was shameful and all, and how foreign investment was the cause of such issues. We had a distinguished lady make all sorts of random allegations against the company - and our Indian Media happily carrying them, even without so much as a verification of the same.

Well, I must say I really admire the Left leaders for their dedication to their cause - and the amount of homework they put on various issues. But then, one has to find fault with them for their sheer hypocrisy on issues. One wanted to ask the Left leaders ranting against FDI as to what the policy of the West Bengal Government was in this regard. As to disinvestment too, well isn't the WB Government (a Leftist Government!) the one disinvesting its stake in Haldia Petrochemicals?

While it is understandable that the politicos all want to bake their bread in the fires stoked by the police (or their stooges - the inquiry will bring that out) It is indeed a shame that NONE and I mean NONE of the politicians had the decency to even go an inquire into the health of the DSP who nearly died in the initial violence perpetrated by the strikers (or the political stooges with them). Which brings me to the final question in this UQ series.

UQ No 4: Our Attitude to cops and other services personnel
This really is the moot point - what do we as a Nation think of our police, and our other services personnel? To tell you the truth, we don't. We are all ready to jump on any denunciation of these people and bay for their blood any and every time the police act out of line. But do we EVER even try to understand them? Recently, there was this cop who was suspended on charges of molestation when he tried to separate two ladies fighting. He was immediately suspended and then things turned out that he was not really quilty. But the point is such action will demoralise further an already overworked and demoralised force. In Patna the other day, some mantri or MPs nephew brutally thrashed a traffice police guy for doing his duty, and due to the "political pressure" the DSP actually apologises to this arrogant brute!

Well, it is time we understood the pressures these guys are working under and gave them a break. I don't condone the behaviour of the Police on this occasion - let me be crystal clear on that. But I do not expect the valiant men in uniform will continue to be angels and take the blows that an unrelenting public and an absolutely corrupt and bankrupt political class throws at them. I have heard of police officers working like 20 hours a day - fighting AK47 armed criminals with equipment that Robert Clive's men used against the Nawab of Bengal. Ditto with Army personnel in Kashmir - Jawans doing duty for 20 hours, not knowing which bullet from which direction bears their name - all for National pride and honour- and the promised few pegs of rum at the end of the day.

The reality is that our attitude towards our cops and services personnel is one of absolute disregard. We as people do not care that the Havaldar cannot afford to educate his kids on his salary, that he is in a high stress job, with little or no rest and recuperation. Given the abysmal conditions these guys work under, it is important at least that we guys understand the reasons for their behaviour on occasions like this and learn to rectify the causes of that behaviour rather than condemnthem as people and as professionals and bay for their blood. Lets remember this - none of us would want to work on the pay we offer them, at least lets be thankful that we are free and able to enjoy our lives because of these guys. We deny them a chance to make a decent living, at least lets not get carried away by stray incidents like these and deny them the honour and respect that they deserve

India Marches On...

2005-07-16T14:06:00.000+05:30

It is about 2:00 clock in the afternoon, and I am on a State Transport Bus hurtling down a highway in the Rangareddy District of Andhra Pradesh. I am on a tour as a part of my work, but that is not germane to the issue. The real issue is how India has improved in terms of infrastructure.

It is indeed interesting to take a look at the growth of India’s infrastructure the way I am doing it now – writing this note on my laptop in a bus, and publishing it with the help of my cell phone. The road I am traveling is the same road I took a few years ago when I was traveling to Nizamabad on a visit to an aunt. But in a sense it is different. Gone are the bumps in the road that jarred every single one of the 206 bones in your body. The new road stretches out in front of me – mile after mile of smooth paved macadam dotted with tiny highway villages and towns. Even the character of the towns seems to have undergone a sea change. The village streets look a lot cleaner, there are a lower number of naked kids hanging about and the general village junta seems to have a lot more purpose about their existence.

Is this then the marvel of India’s relentless march towards progress? Well, prima facie we seem to have improved the physical infrastructure, if I were to compare just the state of one road in a state that I have traveled frequently in. The real challenge, however, is to bring about progressive thinking in the minds of our people-to create a vision of India where people do not discriminate among each other on the basis of caste, creed, status, gender, region, language etc. More on that a bit later…

Uncomfortable Questions I - Indian Sport - A case of lack of discipline?

2005-07-14T08:26:00.000+05:30

Well, this is the first in a series of posts that will focus on sharing of thoughts as to what ails the world. Pretty ambitious huh? But I guess I will play my IIM card just this once (pardon me my friends!) and say that the IIM taught us to aim for the world - so what the heck - I will talk about it!

The first thing that I thought I should discuss is the situation of Indian Sport. It is funny, indeed ludicrous that a nation of over a billion people cannot produce even a clutch of Olympic medalists. Is it that we suck as a nation at sports? Or is it because rather than slog our butts off for something, we are just a nation of losers and whiners? Or is it that the "Race superiority" theory of the Black and Caucasians being physically superior? Well, as far as the race theory goes, I simply refuse to believe it. While it might be true that in some disciplines African origin people (or Blacks - btw Black is not a politically incorrect term) may be better - like sprints or even long distance running, I believe that we as Indians or Asians do not lag behind. It is probably only in the field of discipline that we are amongst the worst in the world. And let’s not even get started on the politics front!

Witness the triumph of Karnam Malleswari - the first Indian lady to win an Olympic medal. Remember the collective outpouring of pride and euphoria (and relief!) when she won a Bronze Medal at Sydney in 2000. Overnight she became a heroine and everyone in our media and political unstable-ishment fell over each other to congratulate her. I mean, she was this great heroine and deserves all the bouquets she got, right?

WRONG, she should have received a severe reprimand from the federation as well as from the Government. Have I lost my marbles here? No I have not - the truth of the matter is that she committed not one but TWO grave errors. The first was the fact that she could not maintain her discipline - till a few months prior to the Olympics, she was competing in the 63 Kg category, but by the time the Olympics came, she had gained weight and had to compete in the 69 Kg category where she won the bronze. Had she been able to maintain her weight in the original category, she would have won us a GOLD (or Silver at least). So the question is, should we rejoice at this bronze or be upset that one of our champions could not maintain the discipline for that short period and win the Gold that was rightfully hers? OK, maybe the weight issue was something she could not control. But there was one thing she COULD have controlled - and that was the weight she got set up for her last lift. The Chinese lady who won had successfully lifted 132.5 kg and Malleswari needed a 135 to secure the gold. I dunnno who decided for her - but she attempted 137.5 at the last attempt and failed to lift it. Result - what should have been gold (or at least a silver, considering the results of the 63 kg category) was turned into a bronze Reference : http://www.iwf.net/results/2000/sydney_women69.html and http://www.iwf.net/results/2000/sydney_women63.html

This is just one of the instances that irk me. The other much publicised instance is the break up of the famous pairing of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi - admittedly sterling players and personalities in their own right. Prima facie, there is nothing to find fault with them - they have both served the country with great passion and fervour. But still there is an uncomfortable question lurking there - did the do enough to make sure that the most successful and promising partnership of Indian sport continued? I am not too sure - though I will leave it at that since I do not have any data on this.

The third thing then is a sport I love a lot but follow very little - hockey. Maybe because of this, I should refrain from commenting, but what the hell - blogging does that to you! I find that in terms of skill and talent, our guys are up there with the best. But somehow, we fail miserably as a team. Is it because we are physically weak? (An India Today report a couple of years earlier said that some of our best drag-flickers were much below the best in the world. Ditto with our footballers - and most other sports.) Or is it more to do with the fact the style we play the game in is more important to us than winning? Is this why you see Indian forwards continue dribbling the ball even after they have dribbled past a couple of players and there are two or three opponents blocking their way? Is the Asian style of Hockey (admittedly superior in terms of demands on talent and skill) more important than WINNING? Is the physical, team based passing game that Australia or the Netherlands or even South Korea play the reason why the Aussies can score two goals against us in the last one and a half minutes? A whole bunch of uncomfortable questions there!

Well I guess I will call it a day in this - the first post on uncomfortable questions. Will continue with a few more on Indian sports - or the dismal farce that passes off for it. bye for now.

Return to Blogging

2005-07-14T08:20:00.000+05:30

Well, finally after my prodigal return the other time, I am back. And this time for a longer and much more interesting (hopefully!) look at some things that I like or hate. But mostly, from now on, I will focus on some burning issues and my opinions (two cents worth!) on them.

And this time my stay wil be longer - the reason being that I have got myself a cell that has internet connectivity, but more about that in my next post, which will follow immediately!

so long...

I'm Back!

2005-05-09T20:39:00.000+05:30

After a long hiatus, I'm back. And this time, I hope to be more regular with things. As mentioned in my previous post, I will elaborate on the placements scene.

The placements this year were rocking across all B-school campuses and the IIMs in particular. Suffice it to say that a lot of my colleagues are raking in the moolah, though there are those like my hostel winger and fellow Mumbaikar Abhishek Thakore, who chose to start their own ventures, when they could easily have landed cushy jobs anywhere in the world.

On a personal note, I landed up a job with my dream company, the TATA Administrative Services and will be joining on the 15th of May. Should be a really exciting time - what with its well rounded training programme and challenging work.

In other news, I have undertaken some peregrinations - to relatives and our family deity. After a long gap of some 17 years, I visited my ancestral village of Kasheli in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. It was indeed an awesome experience - truly mind boggling natural beauty combined with equally mind boggling poverty. It is quite surprising - a region that has so much of natural wealth in the form of the best mangoes in the world, awesome cashews, coconuts and betel nuts, should also have a
poor population. Tragic!

The past couple of months have been truly hectic, what with shopping and visiting relatives and temples - all in anticipation of the hectic career I am about to embark on - so this was the last real vacation in my life. However, I have still managed to catch up with my passions - harmonica playing and photography. Promise to post some of my latest snaps soon - as soon as I find a cybercafe with a USB drive! Ciao for now....

Placements!

2005-03-07T13:14:00.000+05:30

Its that time of the year when every MBA has his/her hopes up - yup, its placements season. And like every other MBA, its time to brush up my concepts. What's scary is that this time I'm not feeling any urge to study even my basic texts, forget do industry and sector research. With placements round the corner, I'm not sure this is the right time for the blues to hit.

My friends in Mumbai from NM and SP Jain are already placed, and enjoying their moment in the sun. And their repeated reminders about my placements do not help! Its tough enough to spend all the day playing AOE or reading novels. Add to that advice on placements by friends. Irritating times indeed

To help matters though, I got my first couple of shortlists, so I am feeling that the two years spent here would be fruitful after all! Not that any grad from IIMB has had to go out without a great job, but there's always a first time and I don't want to lead by example in this matter!

Apart from this, life is pretty chill. We keep having our parties and games. The interblock competition, Spardha just got over. Classes have been done with last month itself, so this is a kind of preparatory leave, though it is turning to a big vacation for me. More on the ploacements scene later. Ciao

Some Career Gyaan!

2005-02-11T17:20:00.000+05:30

The other day I came across this set of short rules for success in carrers. These are not my own and the copywright is with the respective author - a certain Mr. Richard Moran.

Bon Apetit!

Business is made up of ambiguous victories and nebulous defeats. Claim them all as victories.

Keep track of what you do; someone is sure to ask.

Be comfortable around senior managers, or learn to fake it.

Never bring your boss a problem without some solution.

You are getting paid to think, not to whine.

Long hours don’t mean anything; results count, not
effort.

Write down ideas; they get lost, like good pens.

Always arrive at work 30 minutes before your boss.

Help other people network for jobs. You never know
when your turn will come.

Don’t take days off sick—unless you are.

Assume no one can/will keep a secret.

Know when you do your best—morning, night, under
pressure, relaxed; schedule and prioritize your
work accordingly.

Treat everyone who works in the organization with
respect and dignity, whether it be the cleaner or the
managing director.

Don’t ever be patronizing.

Never appear stressed in front of a client, a customer
or your boss. Take a deep breath and ask yourself: In
the course of human events, how important is this?

If you get the entrepreneurial urge, visit someone
who has his own business. It may cure you.

Acknowledging someone else’s contribution will
repay you doubly.

Career planning is an oxymoron. The most exciting
opportunities tend to be unplanned.

Always choose to do what you’ll remember ten years
from now.

The size of your office is not as important as the size
of your pay cheque.

Understand what finished work looks like and deliver
your work only when it is finished.

The person who spends all of his or her time is not
hard-working; he or she is boring.

Know how to write business letters—including
thank-you notes as well as proposals.

Never confuse a memo with reality. Most memos
from the top are political fantasy.

Eliminate guilt. Don’t fiddle expenses, taxes or
benefits, and don’t cheat colleagues.

Reorganizations mean that someone will lose his or
her job. Get on the committee that will make the
recommendations.

Job security does not exist.

Always have an answer to the question, “What
would I do if I lost my job tomorrow?”

Go to the company Christmas party.

Don’t get drunk at the company Christmas party.

Avoid working at weekends. Work longer during the
week if you have to.

The most successful people in business are interesting.
Sometimes you’ll be on a winning streak and everything
will click; take maximum advantage. When
the opposite is true, hold steady and wait it out.

Never in your life say, “It’s not my job.”

Be loyal to your career, your interests and yourself.

Understand the skills and abilities that set you apart.
Use them whenever you have an opportunity.

People remember the end of the project. As they say
in boxing, “Always finish stronger than you start."

Unmaad!

2005-02-06T17:18:00.000+05:30

It has been a hectic few weeks really. Being part of the infrastructure team for Unmaad, and in charge of all events infrastrcture, in addition to being one of the coordinators for the SPICMACAY IIMB subchapter meant that the past few weeks were spent in a sleep deprived state. Which going by the perennially sleep deprived conditions at an IIM is worse. However, these days were not without a silver lining.

Yamini, the dusk to dawn classical music and dance festival, was a great learning experience. Being in IIM B, we exected the brand to help us get lots of sponsorships. To our chagrin, we realises that that was just not true. It turned out that the Cultural Committee (Of which I am a part!) had already mined all contacts that were to be mined. Which meant that while the cultural committee was flush with fund, we were struggling to get even the relative peanuts needed to organise the events. Add to that the sheer cynicism of corporate brand managers and one is left shuddering at the thought that one would have to do such things in the future as a brand manager. We were told in no uncertain terms by potential sponsors that we could not offer them value. However, we finally got the needed funds and were able to go ahead.

Yamini, and indeed Unmaad, were not without their share of fun, learnings and bitter moments. At times, the sheer pressure of having to slog 20 plus hours for a matter of two weeks or so (and the 10 hours of sleep in the unmaad week in total!) were enough to lead to hot heads and raised voices. That we manage to maintain our equanimity is a tribute to the trial by fire in the past two years. It was indeed difficult to manage both events simultaneously, whle dealing with all the people issues involved.

One problem with IIM grads is that we tend to think of ourselves as God's gift to humanity. In the relentless pursuit of wealth, position and status, we often tend to think of ourselves as a superior race - something which is extremely uneserved in the first place and downright irritating at best. I remember asking people to do something which involved a degree of physical effort andseeing these people waiting for labour to arrive to do such mundane tasks as lifting a banner an putting it elsewhere. I hope for our sake that we do end up in jobs where we can basically sit and order others around, since it would be disappointing to see some of us become losers in life just because we are unwilling to get our hands dirty.

Unmaad was a lot more pleasurable in execution than it had been in planning. Being an infra guy subjected to the never-ending cribs of the event team, it was indeed amazing to see our team work in a clockwork precision. I must give due credit to Muthu, Guhan, Mohit and Amitesh, my first year team members for the sheer enthu that they showed in making sure that events were running on schedule. The sheer scale of our achievement can be summed up in this anecdote. Moron, our Culsecy, was approached by some guys who had come to complainabout not being allowed to participate in the General Quiz. The gist of the complain : "I came only two hours late da! How can the general quiz be over? How can you have a festival that is running on schedule?" The zenith of our success however came at the time of an Audio-visual quiz. The debate that preceded it in our audi where the quiz was to be held, was delayed because the judges came late. Since we wanted to get other , more important events like the pro-shows started on time, it was imperative that we got these events out of the way as soon as possible. When Ali, our events head, spoke to me on a walkie emphasising the need to getthe quiz set up ASAP, I gave him an estimate of 15 minutes for setup. As it turned out, my hyperefficient team did it in 90 seconds flat!!!

The best moments of Unmaad, however, came when we least expected it. On the third day, the Infra team was working 2 hours ahead of schedule, which game me lots of free time to do basic vellapanti. I then teamed up with Moron and Apeksha ans Aalap, our publicity team people to go aroung publicisin Kriti. Kriti was the pioneering event that we had launched as part of our efforts to customise Unmaad for everyone as a part of the MyUnmaad initiative. The event was simply this - people from all over the world (yes, we had entries from Pakistan and Thailand as well!) logged on to the myunmaad site (www.myunmaad.com) and posted their ideas on what events should be held at Unmaad. Kriti was a special contest to design an event. This included planning the event, executional details and publicity etc. The best entries were then subjected to a poll on the forums and among Culsecys in Bangalore. The chosen event was designed by Kaushik Ramu, a close friend and winger at IIM B. He won an international holiday package from Club Mahindra for his efforts!

Kriti was basically a bhasad event. It worked like this: You would register at any of a number of desks. Two stickers would be fixed on your forearm, neck or forehead, and you would be given a cliched Hindi film line. Mine was "Maa, mai first class first pass ho gaya maa!", Moron's was "Thahro! Yeh Shaadi Nahin ho sakti!" and so on. The motive of the game was to find you mele-mein-khoya bhai or behen. You had to move around in the arenas searching for people who had the same line, and same stickers stuck on them. In addition, if you were wearing a vest, your brother should also be wearing one. For girls it was earrings, and for mixed gender siblings, this condition was waived.

This led to a lot of fun and bhasad. Initially, when very few entries had come, me Moron, Aalap and Apeksha decided to move from arena to arena and loudly shout out Moron's line. Thus, we went into the Potpourri venue (a DC/Picto event) ans shocked the living daylights out of the people by shouting in one voice "Thahro! Yeh shaadi nahin ho sakti!"and then proceeded to explain the funda of the event to the shellshocked audience. Most of them loved the idea and eventuall went on to participate in the event. We repeated this with other mobs and hangers-on around the place. The best moments came when we met some CIOs/CTOs of our sponsors, who were being shown around the venues by Abhishek, our inhouse marketing guru. We shocked our sponsors with the line as well, and then duly explained it to them. But I am sure that four promising careers with HP, ONGC and SBI were nipped in the bud!

Well, that was all for Unmaad and Yamini. I promise I will post some pictures of these events in the days to come. One thing of note though - Yamini turned out to be a much better success on the personal front as well. But more about that as it develops ;-)
ciao for now

2005-02-06T13:33:00.000+05:30

IIM B Flora and Fauna collection

Yamini

2005-02-06T13:10:00.000+05:30

Bonjour my friends I have returned
After a hiatus too long
To speak about the midnight oil burned
In another silly song

This time for you I recount
This year's Yamini story
Of Music and Dance from the fount
a part of India's glory

We werent sure whether we could
Have the fest this year
People with heads all full of wood,
gave us many a tear

At Bangalore SPICMACAY they had
some silly kind of squabbling
cus of which our state was bad
and our schedules were all wobbling

We could not have our fest so dear
Or so we had thought
Our efforts throughout the previous year
seemed to end in nought

Then at last we got our approvals done
to organise our fest
we slogged n slogged to make it fun
and also to make it the best

We had some Kathak and drums and saw
And flute and guitar and violin
A night of beauty and fun gone max
And a morning full of din

Kadri and Kumaresh and Nirupama captured
The souls of the fans awestruck
The audience they just sat enraptured
All thanking their good luck

Thus Yamini went all smoothly then
Or so we organisers hear
Hope to see you at our Open Air glen
For Yamini again next year

Medical Certificate horror

2005-01-26T19:23:00.000+05:30

Aragorn: Aragorn
Aloha pals, hear my harrowing tale
when I went to JJ hospital, all hearty and hale
to get my certificate so nice and fine
and then hold aloft the celebratory wine

My JJ-student friend, he trotted along,
We felt all happy, we could do no wrong
Then I had my first big shock
The RMO's cabin-it bore a lock

I went to the Superintendant's lair
Whose peon gave me an ugly stare
There I waited for his boss to come
I waited and waited for the lousy bum

Finally he arrived two hours too late
By then a mob was standing at his gate
Waiting for certis were people all
So many were they, they filled the hall

My friend the student, he acted as my guide,
He spoke to the peon who let us inside
The Doctor, he wanted a letter from B
Saying a medical was required for me

I showed him all the papers I had
And then really got the first news glad
He asked me to get a case paper done
And then get a blood test just for fun!

To the OPD, I happily went
And stood in the line meant for a gent
The line it was an endless one
It was an hour, ere I was done

I then got a doctor to scribble on it
Something that later gave me a fit
He hath written that I was feverish and ill
And recommended bloodletting and many a pill

They then sent me to draw my blood
Just another part of the human flood
The blood test, it came all right
Which set me up for another fight

I went to the superintendent again
Who only aggravated the supreme pain
He saw the papers and sent me away
told me to take pills, come back the next day

I was angry and frustrated all
when my friend had his brilliant call
He spoke to the Dean, whom he well knew
And got me an appointment just out of the blue

To the dean then, I went the next day
On his table, a terrified me lay
He poked me here, he poked me there
And pronounced my health as fair

He signed my certi without much say
Which was worth all the aforesaid delay
So finally, I am all done, you see,
So see you all folks at IIM B!!!

Aragorn

2005-01-21T10:59:00.000+05:30

Aragorn
My first post to the IIM B group

With troubled heart and tousled hair
I reported to my chieftain's lair
An epistle clutched in my weary hands
Talking of peregrinations to distant lands
To join new friends who knowledge seek
The bold and the beautiful and the meek
Congregated for multitudinous celebrations
Of timely effort and cerebrations

A letter that said that the end was near
Of all my labours in a place so dear
Labours that brought rewards pecuniary
In S P Jain Management seminary
My pleas accepted, my work is done
I am now free to frolic and fun
In sunny sands and murky waters
With brothers and friends and their fathers' daughters

And reading and music and games to play
To leave my heart all content and gay
I hope to read all my favourite books
Of Bagginses, Brandybucks, Bolgers and Tooks
Of Masons who go by the name of Perry
And a Cook whose recipes are not so merry
A Sheldon who writes gripping tales so pure
A lazy noon's pastime, the ennui's cure

Books by Austen and Dickens of old
And Stevenson's tome on treasures of gold
Silas Marner, Heidi, Tom Sawyer and co
And sleuths like Holmes and Hercule Poirot
Three musketeers set off for tasks so brave
To succeed in them or to head for the grave
And Gulliver amongst Lilliputians, standing tall
My favorite books are classics all

I confess I like no music of stone
Nor enjoy the classical singer's drone
For sweet melody, my heart does long
A meaningful lyric, a pristine song
The masters long gone, all hold me in thrall
Their musical gaiety, their laments of pall
I hear a remix, I hang my head in shame
Their legacy vandalized in the money game

Alas! I have taken so much of your time
And given you thoughts a dozen a dime
But this is the way I truly feel
And I hope with this, your friendship I seal
So that when we meet in the dreamy land
We all do feel like a friendly band
With this last wish, My hat I doff
This is Nikhil Gurjar, signing off.