India..... I would like .....

Public Servants

I am a strong believer in India. The land of snake charmers, mystical babas, bollywood stars, corrupt officials, aspirational youth, investment bankers, techies and geeks, social workers (can't miss this) and many more...

However, though this emerging economy has many followers, there are some things that perhaps will continue to act as a deterrant to the country becoming truly a super power. Today I focus on one such issue...  The callous behaviour of some of our 'public servants' who are actually supposed to serve people.

I had to do a police verification for something. The offical at the counter refused to take my documents as he could not undertsand the purpose of this task. He insisted that there is another way of doing this (cant share details here)....  After many rounds of areguments and counterarguments, I was finally suggested to meet a senior official for a second opinion....

The senior official and this official had some round of discussion to evaluate my eligibility for this process.... I almost had to force my way into their discussion trying to convince them that this is the right process.... thankfully had done my homework.

When will we move towards a system where all these details are available online for the public to view and not depend on the mood swings and interpretaions of some people. This process and be easily made into an online request and people having to physically go to an office if the online system does not work for them....

Scope for improvement...... anyone listening.....

cricket.

In the light of recent Indian victory in the 2011 world cup, what were the other things besides cricket that took the center stage...

Advertisement
Brand endorsements, official sponsors, exclusive broadcast rights, special advert campaigns and what not.. these were just some of the things that distracted me from cricket. So if the cricketers make more money through endorsing brands than actually playing cricket, why then run like a cheetah to escape the run out!?!

pause.... I could take a break from watching the men in blue for some time...

Cricket Diplomacy
In this dynamic space of public diplomacy, there is yet another philosophy that was developed or at least came to the limelight was how the Governments of India and Pak made all possible attempts to make conversations...so other than the fact that both the PMs got to watch the cricket live in a bullet proof suit... what were the other achievements of this effort of public diplomacy?

Security threat and the menace of managing it..
While the cities that hosted important matches were on high alert and highest level of security checks were a must, it also inconvenienced the public at large. For example, my attempt to  get to Worli, which is miles away from Wankhede failed as the cops stopped traffic at worli naka... The route also leads to some of the best hospitals of the city, could have been a disaster for someone  trying to rush a loved one into a hospital. Worst, there was no indication or announcement by the Mumbai Police about the planned road blocks so that public could plan their movements across the city.


Betting
Better less said about it since the deal is now done. Hours after the Ind-Pak match, there were email forwards of how this match was actually fixed.... and how the Ambani's booked the entire suit for its guests in anticipation of India playing the finals in Mumbai...



World War III (actually a  Ind-Pak cricket match )
The envy.... the rigour.... the energy.... men in blue were truly the angry young men, who gave up everything to win this match. The longing for a win was evident in each delivery, on every strike and every dive made to save runs....
The roads were empty as never seen before. Full screens set up in every nook and corner for public to have free access to the most important match of the decade...

Drink and watch
What also came out time and again is the relatively new trend of people enjoying their match in pubs through the city. It was cash time for clubs as they charged anywhere from INR 1500-3000 just for entry....

Cricket... truly the opium of the masses!!!

The Economics of delayed flights?

Just like any other business trip, I started for the airport at sharp 3.30pm to get to the airport an hour before the departure, remember now they close the check in counters 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure. While on my way, I received a text notification informing me about the delay in flight by an hour and a quarter... Hmmm.... Sometimes, its good to be late.... oh how much I wished I started a bit later, I could have finished one report and a few emails.... Yup... So I don't have a BBRY.... try not to mess up the work-life balance. I can live without checking my emails for a few hours!

So on reaching the airport, I see more chaos right from the check in counters to the security checks. Obviously, some people are quite comfortable being really late for their flights. Well, its almost like some of them are doing the airline and other co-passengers a favour by boarding on the plane!! So all those whose flights are the first to depart get to jump queues and get a escorted under strict guard by the airline staff! Now that's what I call VIP treatment for being late.

Coming back to the point of delayed flights; since many have switched to no frill airlines, the cafe's, eateries, coffee shops etc. have had a boom in their business. With airport prices being marked up to anywhere between two to three times, its good return of investment for them. Apart from food, many of the major airports have an almost fully functional and elaborate shopping areas, selling from the more common perfumes, cosmetics, chocolates, books to even massages, flat screen TVs, laptops and the works....

So the bottom line, while people wait for their flight..... They are enticed to eat, drink and shop!

 So next time you are window shopping at the airport and think you want to shop something.... ask yourself- Do you really need it?

A small beginning.........

While I was a student, I often found myself in the midst of hot debates, some significant and some quite inconsequential..... A wise person once told me, choose your battles wisely! And as I put this principle into practice, I realised that life started simplifying....

However, it is important to bear in mind that choosing your battles wisely is not same as not having opinions. From today onwards, this is my attempt to have opinions based on facts and analysis so that I do not let lose of my thoughts and views.

These could be in any area such as Politics, Science, Policy, Administration, Foreign Policy, War, Livelihoods, etc. I choose to stay away from gossips and grapevine. Those issues which do have any bearing on me what so ever, will not take time and space in my mind or my blog!

Let the journey begin......... of views, analysis and innovation :)