Random thoughts peeping into the streets of Mumbai…

It was barely a couple of years ago. Newspapers and news channels flashed news about a Readers’ Digest survey which proclaimed Mumbai to be the rudest city in the world (ranked 36th). And then, of course followed the opposing versions and refutes by the Mumbaikars. Honestly, at that time I believed Mumbai was indeed the rudest city in the world on a relative scale. I presumed, a worldwide reputed magazine publisher ought to have dispensed adequate efforts on R&D and the survey must have been backed up by evidences.

But a one-off incident on a typical weekday, on my way to the office gripped my attention. The Mumbai Indian within me woke up and then my random thoughts pondered over ‘the rudest city’ chapter of June 2006…

The incident goes something like this:
There was this old lady in my bus waiting impatiently to buy a ticket with a Rs.100 note. The TC refuses to give her the ticket and tells her to produce a lower denomination note. An argument ensues and she gets even more impatient each time. Both of them ran out of change and therefore out of options. Finally the TC even suggests that she travel ticket-less on the pretext that being an old lady, she could get away with some excuse if got caught. But she was getting all the more tensed. Finally, becoming aware of the apprehension of the old lady, another lady bought the Rs.10 ticket for her. The old lady could only repay Rs.2 but the smile and relief on her face articulated her gratitude all the more. Rather than being passive and unresponsive, the lady did show her concern towards her and thus her involvement. This was just a simple episode of the routine daily life series. Not so important yet so significant an event to make an impact on one’s life.

These are human responsiveness to circumstances. The crisis situations during the Mumbai floods of 26th July 2005 and the Mumbai train bombings of 11th July 2006 also have highlighted the healthier face of humanity that Mumbai displayed. I am not stating that Mumbaikars are the ‘helpful’ and ‘rising to the occasion’ lot of people and that deeming Mumbai as the rudest city should be condemned. The incident could have occurred anywhere in the world. But terming one city as rude vis-à-vis another should be validated.

In fact, Mumbai has its share of grey shades too. The displeasure expressed by Yuvraj Singh (captain of the Kings XI Punjab team) after their victory over the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai during an IPL match corroborates the fact. Cheering and rooting for the home team is but natural, but what would you call slamming, reproving every move of the non-home team? I had witnessed the Mumbai Indians versus Kolkata Knight Riders match at Wankhede. The other team had to only settle with the boos and cat-calls of the crowd. Shoaib Akhtar gets Tendulkar out and what he gets to hear is a series of foul and offensive terms from the roaring mob. All he could do is turn to the crowd and give a helpless expression of ‘Isn’t that what I’m supposed to be doing? Isn’t that what I’m getting paid for?’ It was indeed a sad sight. My heart reached out to them. But it was a mere hundred like me against thirty thousands.

And now somehow, with the Mumbai Indians not having qualified for the semi-finals, hopefully we can expect a neutral crowd, a good match and the best team winning, keeping in view that both the semi-finals and the final are going to be played in Mumbai.

On the other hand, the Bangalore crowd seems most matured. Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur too are sporting enough. But the Eden Gardens, Kolkata crowd bears some resemblance to Mumbai’s. Mumbai too like Kolkata, is highly fanatical and obsessive as far as the State is concerned, evident from the latest MNS’s and Shiv Sena’s ‘Mumbai aamchi aahe’ and ‘Vada-Pav’ moves respectively in Mumbai. Actually, the ‘Vada Pav’ is, a great initiative – converting Mumbai’s roadside stalls into a business chain a la McDonald’s. Imagine the amount of employment it would generate for an aam aadmi, or rather for a marathi manoos considering the MNS’s orders to grant jobs equally to all (read Maharashtrians).

It so happens that the Readers’ Digest survey declared New York as the politest city followed by Zurich and Toronto. But as far as my knowledge goes and also from hearsay, Japan is one of the politest countries in the world. But Tokyo or any of the other cities, did not find a place anywhere on the list. Ironically, Asia was termed to be the rudest continent. ‘Asians lacked courtesy’! Courtesy has only one definition irrespective of the region, though they don’t realise that the gestures and expressions tend to differ.

According to news reports, the magazine sent its undercover reporters to 36 cities in 35 countries in the world. The parameters for the survey were:

• whether the people kept the door open for the reporters while entering a building;
• whether the salespeople in a store thanked the reporters on a purchase;
• and whether they were helped in collecting flying papers when they intentionally dropped a folder full of papers at a crowded place.

These might seem necessary but not sufficient enough parameters of judgement. There should be clear-cut judgement factors tailored to the region-wise customs and mannerisms being followed. It somehow doesn’t define itself as an ‘inclusive’ sample when the population is the entire world comprising 195 countries. It doesn’t cover half the population considering 1 city represents 1 country. It may also be termed uneven - it included 2 cities from Canada (see list alongside - courtesy:Readers' Digest). It may have been a convenience sampling. And there is no stated theory to verify how the sample is an actual representation of the population.

So irrespective of the nature of the sample, one has no say on the inference of a survey. Moreover, the magazine overtly stated that the survey was unscientific. Tagging Mumbai, or for that matter any city as the rudest city is acceptable provided the findings can be substantiated by an efficient and effective sample frame. Such unsought-for steps in the name of surveys are only avoidable rather than creating rift between cities, countries and continents.

Spend and Let Save…

Classical Economists have always been advocating the doctrine of saving, not just to provide for personal future benefits but also for the benefit of the country’s economy. But as times change, so do people’s perspectives. And thus, the Economic theory has undergone a paradigm shift towards what is now known as neo economics...

The Indian economy is also gradually advancing towards the culture of Spend More-Save Less. With diverse insurance and loan schemes available, people’s future needs are provided for. The burgeoning middle-class having more and more disposable income has become the potential target for the manufacturers of consumer durables and non-durables. With a plethora of retail shops, supermarkets and hypermarkets replacing the old mom-n-pop shops, individual customer needs and conveniences are all taken care of. Everything from cakes to clothes is available under one roof. Even the non A and B SEC segments have started living out of their wallets. Everyone is plunging into living a higher standard of life. This has in turn resulted in foreign retailers eyeing the Indian markets for their share in the pie. With retail giants like Wal-Mart and Marks and Spencer venturing into the Indian lucrative markets, the consumers are now more into the buying blitz. The cycle thus continues… More retail FDIs, more known brands, broader sphere of selection, more insatiable demands and finally more credits.

Taking illustrations from the two major giants - Japan and the US, each adopting a saving culture and a spending culture respectively, we can study the impact of each of them on the economy.

Japan comprises old working population. Their modus operandi is thus simple, conventional, mainstream and orthodox. The Japanese are hard-working, less risk-taking and believe in saving rather than spending. Every move of theirs is planned with substantial calculations and analyses. This started ever since the country was devastated in 1945 by the US bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Their growth curve post World War II has been tremendous. Their well-planned avenging strategy on the US is much evident from their ‘dumping’ policy in the 1980s and 1990s. Their automobile sales targeted the US markets in such a way that they sold their automobiles at much lower prices than the automobiles manufactured in the US. As a result, GM and other American automobile manufacturers suffered distressing losses. They also disallowed US access to Japanese markets.

Like many other Asian nations, Japanese exports have always surpassed the imports. They enjoy an annual trade surplus. Yet their economy is considered to be not very strong... To inculcate a spending culture, the Japanese government also reduced the deposit rates and even charged the savers (negative interest rates), but people’s outlook did not change. They preferred saving in deposits to even holding back the money with themselves. Neither the trade surplus nor the domestic savings have helped the economy.

Au contraire, the US government provides the citizens with Social Security schemes – future life securities, employment securities…even unemployment securities! Reassuring schemes as these left no reason for people to save. Thus, the US is one of the countable few nations flourishing on credit culture. Contrary to Japan and many other countries, the US has banked mainly on imports. They have an annual trade deficit. Their investments in other countries is also far less than others’ investments in the US. Yet, the economy is expanding and is believed to grow stronger... The US economy is thriving on the back of the savings of the rest of the world. Countries like Japan, China and India invest most of their forex earnings through exports, etc. in the US Treasuries which in turn help US consumers' spending.

What would you do if you were not to spend?
You would deposit your money in banks or in any other avenues for investments. Your money in turn would be used by these institutions to give credits and loans. In other words, you are saving so that others can spend! Give it a thought…This is precisely what capitalist countries like the US have banked on.

To get more into neo economics, here is what Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati, an Indian-born Economist in the US, a Professor of Economics at Columbia University has to say. ‘Don't wastefully save. Start spending, on imported cars and, seriously, even on cosmetics! This will put all nations on a growth curve. "Saving is sin, and spending is virtue." Before you follow this neo economics, get someone to save so that you can borrow from him and spend.’

So go ahead guys… spend...

……but not your money… :)

All’s fair in love and war?

‘If you can’t win over her, kill her’- that’s what seems to be on the minds of people in love these days. In fact, it’s ignominious to identify them as lovers. People no longer seem to understand the sanctity of love.

Talking of love, the Taj Mahal should certainly light up your mind, now that it’s become the talk of the town. The sheer radiance of this marble-clad massive mausoleum basking under the sunlight or its sparkling reflection rippling through the adjacent Yamuna river by the moonlight are inspiring enough to make one fall in love. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan made this architecture over the tomb of his beloved wife Mumtaj Mahal to exhibit his eternal love for her.

On the one hand, we talk about voting for this epitome of immortal love to bring it into the new Seven Wonders of the World, and on the other hand we hear about people resorting to killing their love in desperation. Well indeed, love has diverse definitions; that’s the parody of life. Anyway, the news channels are making big business either way!

Cases of people slaying down their own fiancées have increased multi-fold. It’s almost become an everyday episode. It was barely a couple of months from now when this 24-year-old software professional Kaushambi Layek, a TCS employee was murdered by her boyfriend at a suburban hotel in Mumbai. And now it’s this girl, Sushma Nikam who was brutally stabbed to death by her ‘lover’ on the busy streets of Thane amidst all the passers-by rushing to their workplaces. But despite their busy schedules, the otherwise-always-on-their-toes Mumbaikars did find the time to watch the ‘tamasha’, though they refrained from coming forward to the victim’s rescue. Due respect to the one lady who lent a helping hand – laudable! (I think everyone should start wearing ‘choodiyan’, if that makes one brave!) The victim was stabbed 21 times by the attacker in broad daylight, and that’s precisely the kind of social situation where we prefer to stay mum and stand as oblivious onlookers. Well, no one can be blamed. The sight would have been gruesome enough for anybody to think of taking instantaneous action. Picture ourselves witnessing such cruelty. We never know how we would react given the same circumstances - terrified…petrified…mortified…stupefied? A real situation is not an ideal situation! But people will be people – great talkers, little doers, especially when it comes to condemning each others’ doings. And the Press will be Press, when it comes to dramatizing the audience's reactions to add some spice to their hottest selling news!

Anyway, returning to my point, I was mentioning the different dimensions of love, or is this a typical case of pure love versus lust? Cliché as it may sound, but that’s the fact! Desire - want – get – acquire, these are the thoughts occupying people’s minds. Whoever said, one should learn to give in love. Forget giving one’s own life, even that’s an offence punishable by law! But taking away someone else’s life? This only confirms that we show no concern for anybody but our own selves. Self contentment is all that matters and we can stoop to any level to acquire that, though that may account to somebody else’s grief.

Can we still call ourselves humans or are we turning into callous and cold-blooded creatures, heartless hooligans? All said and done, one thing is confirmed – ‘All’s fair in love and war’, and people seem to have taken that a bit too literally. When this was phrased, little would the author have expected that there would be a phase, where love would lose its face following this very adage. And with many more ‘lovely’ centuries to go, even God might not be able to answer where mankind would lie and where humanity would be…

The ABCs of my Schooling

The monsoon is beyond doubt, the harbinger of nostalgic emotions. How we wish we could relive the very first days of our school with every first shower that June ushers in. A gala midnight chateratti with my cousins revived my memories, catalyzed my thoughts and provoked me into penning down those times.

As June would commence, so would our anxiety to experience yet another year in school. My summer holidays used to be busy with my Tinkle comics, with the covering of my school books, playing ‘Barbie-and-Skipper’ and rushing for my pre-school shopping!

My memories don’t go too much down the lane, but being the eldest of the three cousins, I do remember playing big sister in school. The over-protective one that I played to be (no, I wasn’t bossy and I dare my cousins to give a different version to this!), I remember those lunch-breaks when I used to go to my sister’s II-C class where she would wait for me with a sole friend of hers for our lunch ensemble.

As years passed by, our friends-circle expanded. Our lunch ensembles got merrier. My cousin would have certainly not followed our jokes and jeers, nevertheless she was part of everything. How we still recall those times, our friends’ mannerisms, the way we all ate, the way we played, the way we fell!

I can’t forget those early mornings when we used to be forced out of our beds. The drowsy-droopy threesome that were, we would drag ourselves out to the bus-stop desperately awaiting our bus to arrive to find our seats to slumber again!

My classes- V to VII were the best ones to cherish! Those were the years I still recollect very distinctly. Those were the years when we had the perfect blend of more of fun and less of books! And my class VI-C was the best of them. It was one of the very few terrace classrooms in the entire school. And I was one of those fortunate ones to be envied by my other schoolmates.

How we would gaze out of the window into the open skies. How the raindrops would splatter on our fresh new notebooks and on our faces. And then the frustrated looks that we would give our teachers as to how irritated we were with the rains diverting our attention from the lessons, making it cumbersome for us to make notes; certainly not realizing that those looks could never camouflage our inner bliss- the joy of welcoming the rains, the joy of having no lessons…
These moments will always bring a smile on our faces... The smell of the wet soil ('mitti ki khushboo')...

The memoirs of my school would be incomplete without cheering for the best house of our school- my Red-house. Our typical cheers to the house would go-
‘Soda-lemon-ginger-pop,
Red house on the top.
RED HOUSE- RED HOUSE!
Clap-clap-clap!’

Cheers to those times!

And finally, not to forget, a toast of gratitude to the endeavours of all my Sisters and teachers who have contributed in shaping me up the way I am!!!

What May had to say…

May was in no way different from the other months (except for the fact that I composed my first blog post in May 2007!). I leave for office at 8 in the morning and return home at 10:30 in the night…much to my mother’s relief, I guess! And with the latest baby-sitting chore that I have, putting my 1 year old niece to sleep at night is a feat by itself. I catch up on my sleep only on my weekends. And that is the time I expect no one to wake me up. In fact, people’s attempts to pull me out of the bed have all gone futile, the deep-sleeper that I am!!!

It was a hot May Sunday morning. There was an important house-warming ceremony that I had to attend. But the indolent, incorrigible imp that I am, I woke up at noon, only to find that it was much too late to attend the function! Everyone was wild at me. They ought to have been! I did feel guilty- very much actually. I shouldn't have overslept. But now it was too late. And my ego deterred me from apologizing… But my mother would never scold me- NEVER! It’s only her silence that I am very much afraid of. That scathing silence is much like a scorpion sting, penetrating my skin, painfully triggering every inch of it. And finally in a totally electrocuted state my conscience would gasp out-‘Oh gosh! What have I done?’ I was BAD! I didn’t even apologize.

And now…
… I still haven't apologized. I do feel bad about it every single time I do it, but Sorry seems to be he hardest word for me.

The entire conscience-transition process took time though! Blame it on the sweltering May heat soaring a 40 degrees C., you can’t expect me to gain my cool so easily, can you?

Here's what May had to say to me:

Be the child your parents want you to be!
Never hesitate to say Sorry.

I have learnt a lot more than this, actually. It was indeed a very introspective month for me. We had these character-assessment chain-mails circulating wherein I had my friends’ viewpoints on myself. They are probably justified in pointing out that I am this egoistic, short-tempered and adamant person. I also learnt that I am a very peculiarly ‘mysterious girl’! (Chill people, I don't aspire to become Peter André’s next muse!) My friends find it hard to understand me. Sometimes I wonder what I am! But one thing is for sure, I’m definitely more than being just ‘cute-chirpy-and-bubbly’ as everyone would say. And the narcissist that I am, I’d say, I’m definitely not an imp either… I’m just...important…