Weekend Trip to Varanasi (Banaras)

After spending a noisy and sleepless night in the 3 tier AC compartment of Shivganga Express, I arrived in Varanasi. The train was running about an hour late but everybody waited patiently for the train to arrive at Varanasi station. A twenty minute long bumpy ride for 50 Rs. bought me to Assi Ghat (Riverfront) which is the most upstream ghat of Ganga in Banaras. Amidst a chaos caused by a mela, I was looking around for the hotel where I reserved a room the day before. 

The hotel Palace on Ganges seemed like a well maintained recently renovated hotel overlooking the Ganga river or Gangaji as the local people call the holiest river of Hindus. A heavy rain since past couple of weeks in the region made the river flow with the vigour, it has been known for since the ancient times. I requested for the small room next to the roof top garden with an unhindered view of the Ganga and I got it.

My school Hindi textbook had a lesson on Varanasi that made my first connection to the holy city. One can not deny the deep impact of Varanasi on the culture of North India whether it is music, Hindi literature, education or hindu mythology. Its special significance as the city of Shiva brings people from all over India to fulfill their religeous and spiritual needs.

A city having such a rich heritage seemed to be in a total state of neglect, as my first rikshaw ride from Assi Ghat to one of the downstream stream ghats revealed. Upon arrival at Dashashvamegh (Ten Horses) ghat, I got overwhelmed by touts offering me a guided tour, cheap boat trip offers and filth accumulated by the uncontrolled offering of flowers and plastic bags to the holy river. I heggled for the price of a good boat trip which we finally agreed upon at Rs. 300.

Sailing upstream against the huge water mass was not very easy for two persons rowing the boat under the command of their boss sitting on the other end of the boat. A gentle wind on the river surface brought some comfort to an otherwise uncomfortable ride in the hot mid-day sun accompanied with a humid weather. Our boat moved slowely along the river bank where the river current was not very strong. As the boat moved upstream, the famous ghats of Banaras started passing like a panorama. Munshi ghat - named after famous hindi writer Premchand. Ghat built by Mysore state. Ghat built by Ahilya Devi Holkar of Indore who was a devout follower of Lord Shiva. The most notable was the Harishchandra ghat where Hindus cremate their dead in the belief that the dead will attain "Moksha". 

For a while I thought about Raja Harishchandra, probably the noblest king, India has ever known who sacrificed his kingdom for his commitment and performed his duty (dharma). During my childhood, I heard this story several times from my grandparents. The boat captain, who was also dubbling as a guide, asked me not to take photos of cremation while pointing at the properties of dome (the caretaker of the cremation ground). The mythological story of Raja Harishchandra, as many historians assert, seemed so real with all the locations and the actors standing intact on the banks of Ganga.

As the boat took U-turn, we passed by a fully loaded boat with largely South Indian lady pilgrims enjoying the C shaped sight of the city from the boat. Downstream boat journey was very fast. After ending my boat journey and telling the boat people that I will do my best to come again in the evening for yet another boat ride, I headed for the Vishwanath Temple which is one of the holiest temple of the Lord Shiva. Through narrow lanes known as galis and after crossing three heavily armed security checks, I managed to do darshan of the small Shivaling in the temple known as the Lord Vishwanath.

In the narrow lanes of Varanasi that run along side the ghats you can find cows, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes, dogs, sadhus, funerals, cowdung and teashops at rapid pace in a random order. The streets have temples painted in bright colors, residential houses, ashrams, music schools and the cafes for Israeli tourists who come to Varanasi in big numbers. The narrow lanes appeared much cleaner when I saw in the city outskirts the following day.

In a narrow lane near chowk, I spotted the house of Bhartendu Harishchandra who was the first literary writer of modern hindi, a tradition that continued with other famous writers like Premchand and Jai Shankar Prasad in the last century.

It is 7:00 in the evening. I am waiting for the Ganga aarti to start at Dashashwamegh Ghat. The place is full of locals and the foreign backpacker type young tourists who have no clue where they are headed tomorrow morning. Some people are on dharna demanding immediate cleaning of Ganga and making environmental unfriendly dumping of garbage in the river illegal. The city and the river, it has been known for, since two millenia, desprately needs attention. Spencers and Vishal super market chains and a McDonalds family restaurent under a multiplex in IP Mall announce the arrival of 21st century India to this one of the oldest city on the gangetic plains. A key question remains whether the decay and erosion of Varanasi continues or we will preserve it for the future generations. 

North Bihar is Under Water

This week India sees the flood tragedy in Bihar live through our numerous TV channels vying for attention and higher ratings. According to the estimates 2 million people have been displaced whereas some estimates put this figure to be as high as 5 million. The nature attacks everyone in a democratic manner, as we saw couple of weeks back in Gurgaon when people got trapped on the higher floors due to floods in the so called luxury apartment complexes.

However, the crisis in Bihar is at a different scale because it is happening in the most neglected corner of India which is forgotten by politicians and public alike. Occasionally media reports about North Bihar in the form of caste based killings and total collapse of law and order. Sadly the lack of democracy and development in North Bihar has made the life of people already very miserable and now comes the floods as the next brutal punishment.

India has a poor track record of saving the lives in distress through a well organized system. However, with new Information Technology tools and our understanding of Management methods, the only thing that prevent a good system to establish, is our attitude towards the life of others, particularly the poor. Designing and running a well organized system requires smart brains with inner desire to improve other’s life. We have grown up to learn that we have to find our own unique solution to the problems of our daily lives and that prevents us from focusing upon finding a solution for a bigger group or community.

Calamities due to water are not new to mankind. Even a developed nation like US failed to handle the aftermath of Catarina, not because of the lack of resources, but due to the lack of compassion and indifferent attitude towards largely black and lower middle class population living in New Orleans.

What India needs is a national level disaster management system that remains always in the state of high readiness. We should make comprehensive evacuation plan up to Mohalla level, have a good communication plan to communicate up to the lowest level possible in case a disaster takes place. India never lacked brains or money. All we need is attitude and a government which is ready to involve everybody in the disaster management efforts before such disasters take place.

FRRO Gurgaon Revisited

In August I made my third visit to FRRO in Gurgaon to get my residence permit extended because I  got my new passport with five year validity. I was a bit nervous that I will have to fill up forms and submit photocopies of document again. However, this time I was proven wrong again. The police personnel in FRRO were courteous. I got my residence permit extended in fifteen minutes. They are doing an excellent job for a government office managed by the local police.

Crackdown on Organized Retail in UP

UP government has clearly demonstrated that it can use vandalism and politics of poor to orchestrate its own outdated agenda to push back UP in the era when the economic reforms had not started in India. A vandalizing mob at a retail outlet burning merchandise and threatening personnel and customer can be the just means to get your cause heard and acted upon, is the message sent out to the nation.

A flip side of the vandalizing mob is millions of peace loving people from rich to poor who are fed up with crazy rounding off of prices and faulty balances that are all very common with small unorganized vegetable vendors. These peace loving people do not vandalize property and threaten innocent people. This automatically ensures that their voice is not heard.

If we want to build a modern nation, then we will need shops like Reliance and Spencer's where consumers can buy food at the rreasonable and  published prices with electronic weighing machines. Personally I do not care what happens to the small vegetable vendors. Every wave of modernization has a price to pay for. If it is paid by small traders and vegetable vendors this time so be it. Their future generations will be happy that they are not selling vegetables in filth and mud again.

"Naya Daur" was a movie but the reality is different. Buses have won finally and not the tongas. Tangawala's next generation are enjoying driving auto-rickshaws and Innova taxis.

What do you think?

Also on BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6966251.stm

Driving License Renewal in Gurgaon

My India driving license got expired in January. I wanted to apply for a new one at RTO, Gurgaon. The RTO is located at the ground floor of district court and collector’s in Gurgaon. It is very close to NH-8 exit Rajeev Chowk.

 

Suprisingly this RTO office has no ‘dalals’ or touts as we come across in the various government offices. If a driving license, that is to be renewed is not issued by RTO, Gurgaon then you have to wait for 40 days after the application. They will send your application to the old RTO. After 40 days, if they do not hear from your old RTO or they do not get negative advice from them then you can get a new driving license issued from Gurgaon.

 

The system is more or less organized. If they can have a decent queue system with tokens then even the last remaining chaos will be over.

 

You need to carry the following when you go to the RTO, Gurgaon for license renewal.

 

1. Two address proofs (Bank statement, phone bills, lease agreement)
2. Three passport photos
3. Registered Mail letter available from the post office
4. Gum and stapler
5. Plain papers for writing the application
6. Original Driving License
7. Make 3-4 photo copies of every document
8. Black ink/gel pen
9. Rs 500 with notes of all denominations

 

Get your blood group tested in advance from a good laboratory and take the certificate with you. Getting your blood tested at the RTO is like inviting all kind infections such as HIV because they observe poor medical hygiene.

 

I got my driver’s license renewed. I can now share road in my car happily with cows and call-centre cabs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other's money at Work at Regus, Augusta Point, Gurgaon

More than two months have passed since we have vacated our temporary office at Regus Business Centre in Gurgaon. We paid a fat refundable security deposit of Rs. 3.5 Lakhs which was supposed to be returned after vacating the office. Apparently Regus people were waiting for tax papers from us to process our refunds but they never bothered to inform us. They expected that since they had our money we would sooner or later ask them about the refund of security deposit and then they would ask for tax papers to process our refunds. This way they can make other’s money work harder for their own profits.

 

I heard some stories about people struggling for a generation to get their own money from the government offices in India. This practice has found a respectable place within multinational companies like Regus in India. In the internet age delay of two months feels like a generation.  

Foreigner Registration (FRRO) in Gurgaon

If you are a foreigner and you intend to stay in India for more than 180 days then you have to register yourself at FRRO. In some cases a registration is required in first 14 days of arrival in India. Four Indian metros have dedicated FRRO office while at a smaller place Gurgaon, this work is usually done at the district police headquarters.



I have heard so many bad things about Indian police through TV, newspapers and general public that I did not expect this interaction to be a pleasant one if not painful. However, I was impressed this time by the efficiency and courteousness, this whole process had been handled so far.



The FRRO is located in the room #312 at mini secretariat (close to NH8 exit Rajeev Chowk) in Old Gurgaon. Just take three flights of stairs and follow the corridor until you see room no. 312. Seating arrangement in this room looks like that of a typical section office of state government. Walls are hardly visible since the paper records have been densely stacked up to the roof of the room. Only computer in the room decorates section officers desk and almost nobody uses it. They even have a big photocopier in that room. There are no queues here. Probably most foreigners still prefer to live in New Delhi. Somebody advised me to be in the office between 11 am to 1 pm to maximize my chances of meeting the people who would process my foreigner registration.



Though it looked like a typical government office, people were seated on their desks and busy. The Section officer and the clerks were courteous. They even offered a garden plastic chair for us to sit. I had to submit 4 copies of a registration form, available with them plus a copy of my PIO ( visa in some cases) and a copy of my passport. Other required documents were my employment letter to work in India, apartment lease agreement and a declaration from my employer that he requests registration for me.



They noted down our PIO and passport detail in a register. In fact, two persons hand wrote my and my wife's passport in two separate physical registers to speed up the process. They made an entry of registration in our PIO's and asked us to come back after 5 days to collect the residence permit.



No harassment, no payment of official or unofficial processing fee (also known as bribe) made me think that even without automation onecan have a good experience dealing with an government organization, if people have right attitude. I hope I am not a lucky person. It should be a repeatable experience.

powered by performancing firefox

Delhi Metro in Gurgaon

It is happening.



Delhi Metro is finally coming to Gurgaon. Delhi Metro Corporation (DMC) is one of the few organizations where Indian engineering skills are put to use for common people to improve the quality of life. DMC performs remarkably well also during the construction. They make sure the daily movement of people does not suffer by Metro construction. From our office window, I can see that the last station of metro in Gurgaon being built. A simple digging machine is moving a part of earth to make room for column to hold elevated railway.

powered by performancing firefox