Idli,Vada,Bonda and Ad(a)!!!

One latent benefit of the IPL is the opportunity one gets to see a good repertoire of TV commercials as marketers “bet” big time on IPL to gain a bigger wallet share of the consumer during the vacation time and the summer season.  To me it is a good time to catch up with what’s happening on the Indian advertising space.  And that’s how this IPL season I stumbled upon a trend and thought its worth sharing. This has been cooking up for a while. Take a look (click on the links to view the TVCs) at the following commercials which have been hitting us during time outs strategic or otherwise:

1. This ad for Centerfruit – The setting is of a traditional restaurant in Tamil Nadu where the owner is conducting an interview for a waiter. The ad brings an instant smile in your lup lupaees oops lips!!  It’s a fact that like they say a Doctor’s most important qualification is to have a horrendous handwriting, the must-have skill for a waiter in Tamil Nadu is the ability to reel off the day’s menu in a jiffy.
2. This heavily accented Hindi speaking Tamilian Murthy has been coming in on and off for some time now.  So there he is, again peddling the Voltas All weather AC as he keeps getting transferred in his job from Chirapunji to Kota to Mukteshwar to now Delhi!
3. The general aversion of the South Indians towards playing Holi is quite well-known now. During this year’s Holi I saw this Idea TVC which captured this idea very well, I thought. (But does a Mallu son calling his dad Appa???)
4. In this ad for Nestle Munch, though the voice over is in chaste Hindi, one can make out that the setting is in Tamil Nadu with Balakrishnan as the character name, typical background score of the South,..,..
5. Have you seen the latest Coca Cola commercial featuring Karan Johar’s “students of last year” – Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan ?  The ad shows a woman resembling clearly a mami (aunty) from the south and the locale again seems like Mylapore in Chennai. ( Couldn’t locate the video link )
6. Also one cannot miss this old ad for Gulf oil featuring Dhoni being re-plugged during IPL where a heavily accented South Indian Driver chases his Chennai Super Kings Captain and Hero Dhoni to return his pillow!!!

And there were some more which appeared before:

1. Havell’s ad film showing a Tambram family doing Homam (Havan)
2. Finolex ad with a Rajnikant look alike
3. Carrier AC commercial with Namboothiri as a character
4. TVC for Parle Full toss with Bharatnatyam dancers in the backdrop
5. An Ad featuring Kareena Kapoor for Mahindra scooter I think

       ,…,…

Now you might have realized where I’m coming from. South India ofcourse.   Suddenly I notice that the story behind ads of many products across categories/brands revolve around Tamil Nadu/Kerala/Karnataka/Andhra and Madrasis as people in Mumbai like to address.  Like I observed in one of my earlier blog post “The Punching of Bollywood” – After the big screen, I think it is now the turn of  the ad industry to wake up to the South Indian coffee!!!

 What could be the reasons for this “Kolaveri” (murderous rage) towards South oflate was my next look out:

• The most logical, rational and straight forward is the “Market”, “Marketing” and “Economics” angle. Which is – that the growth in FMCG, Consumer durables categories in India is being driven more by South India oflate. This is due to the increased purchasing power fuelled by the Software boom and dollar inflows from NRIs.  So to tap into this boom, marketers would like to woo this creed more and more and hence the commercials reflect this strategy.
• Second is the “Fresh Narrative” angle – For years, films, stories and TVCs were set in North India generally speaking. Caricaturing Punjabis, Sardars may be has become out of fashion and is sounding repetitive these days. The need for a fresh narrative is driving creative people down south.  Could be.
• The third as per me is the “Kollywood” angle!!! For quite some time (may be till the mid 80’s) Tamil films were admonished for being loud, over the top with no style/content,… But with the advent of some classy film makers that perception changed and more and more South films started getting re-hashed in Hindi.  This exposure to the South Indian culture and life thro South Indian films and their popularity could be another reason for the ad people to venture to the South.
• Last is the “Move over Bombay” angle – If you look at the origins of advertising industry in India, in the 60’s and 70s the profession was dominated by copywriters from Bombay (Da Cunhas, D’Souzas,..)  And then by people from other Metro cities like Delhi,… In the next wave, we had creative people emerging from the hinterland (Prasoon Pandey, Joshi,..)Though there were excellent copy writers in Chennai as well, they rarely broke into the National scene. However in the last 10 years we see the profession throwing up lot of talented copy writers and creative directors from the South. Balki, Sridhar, Rajeev Rao to just name a few.  Their work is not limited to South Indian brands. From English dominated copy to “Hinglish” copy to virtuous Hindi lines to now Tamil words thrown in liberally (for example Whistle podu, Poda,..,.. ) the narrative of the ads just follow the trend of the professionals dominating the industry.   It is but natural for any creative person to bring in sensibilities he is very conversant with, in his work whether it is art, music, stories, films or for that matter an ad.  Also with actual people from the South writing the lines and directing the artists, it is no more the Andhra type Hindi of Mehmood fame in Hindi films or the ads.

Well, the actual reason could be a combination of all the above.

So be prepared for an overdose of filter Kaapi, Idli, Kaanjivaram, Appadi Podu,..,.. in books, films, ads, songs, videos, tweets and what have you!!!

Post script: Oh, I missed “the only reason” for this trend and how could I?? And that is

“Rajini Sir”

After all HE is from the South. HE sets the agenda and the World follows. Period!!!

Karnataka today, India tomorrow !!!

In this election season, you cannot be blamed for mistaking the title of this post for a war cry of one of the National political parties say the Congress or the BJP. I.e. to capture Karnataka today and India soon after. After all, as Karnataka votes today for its destiny driver for the next 5 years (hopefully), the ball has been set rolling for a string of state elections to follow and then the final Loksabha election mid next year i.e. if the present dispensation lasts its full term. War cry of a party is last of my bother. But, loud cry I keep hearing of the Mango people is.

I cannot but avoid sympathizing with my Karnataka friends as they brave the hot may be not so hot sun and exercise their democratic right today. What is the choice they have?

• Do they again vote and bring back BJP – which made a royal mess of its maiden Southern venture?? 3 Chief Ministers in 5 years, rampant factionalism and infighting, the honour of making “Garden city” a pitiable “Garbage City” today, Corruption charges galore, No governance… have made BJP a party with No difference.

• Do the people of Karnataka repose their faith on Congress – which must take responsibility for the lack of basic infrastructure like roads,… even after ruling the state for more than 50 years since independence? Is there a leader in Congress in the state who can make it happen in the “IT” State?

• Or they throw their weight behind Janata Dal (Secular) helmed by Kumaraswamy Gowda an Ex- Chief Minister himself. If Bangalore is sick and languishing at the bottom of the economic growth table, this secular party has to take fair share of the blame.

• Or finally will the Karnataka praja make my worst nightmare true? Is he actually readying to make Yeddyurappa of Karnataka Janata Party the King or a Kingmaker?

For the citizens, today is a stressful day. The choice they have is to choose the Best among the Worst. As a nation did we opt for democracy to choose the good among the rotten? No wonder there is so much apathy among people today to go and vote. Frankly, if I feel that the candidates in the fray are not worthy of my vote, do I have a choice to express the same?

Though sitting in Mumbai I’m not in a quandary today, I’m worried. Worried because what my Karnataka mates are going through today, many of us have to endure when the time comes to vote for the party/front at the Centre. It looks like “A scam a day may soon keep Dr.Manmohan Singh away”. With an early election looking imminent, the dilemma for the voter gets bigger.

I presume that most fellow Indians have had enough of this Congress led UPA and are craving for a change. For them to satisfy their craving, they need options to vote for in the next General elections. In states where BJP is strong (and that is only 6-7 states I guess) may be they have the option of voting for BJP. But in most of the other states one has to dive into deep-sea to escape from the Congress Devil. In many states where BJP is absent or present in absentia, the people have no choice but to exercise their “Best among the Worst” rule while voting. When they do that, they give fillip by default to parties like the Trinamool Congress, CPI/CPM, YSR Congress, Janata Dal (Secular), Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party,…,…which again start extracting their pound of flesh when the Government formation time comes. Irrespective of the national sentiment for change we may yet get a Government we never wanted. Because under the present system who will rule is decided not by “National mood” but by “Rational Greed” (Money bags, ATM Ministries, Rajya Sabha nominations,…) of the fringe parties who claim to promote the cause of Regional and Sectarian aspirations but in reality have been furthering their own “cases”.

I call this the “Democracy by stealth”. So does this “Democracy by stealth” provide the famous “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”??? I doubt.

Problem definition is always easy. Finding solution is not. Yet, let me attempt. The way forward is certainly to “CHANGE” the present system. That could be in the form of electoral reforms which include

• Clearly defining and identifying National parties which have an influence in more than few states

• Mandating only “National” parties to take part in Lok Sabha elections

• Government formations only based on declared “Pre Poll Alliances” and not by convenient “Post Poll Alignments”

• Election Commission to define a template and minimum criteria for an “Election Manifesto” essentially making the document a “Minimum Agenda for Governance” for the party coming to power.

• Election Manifestos of parties once released during election campaigns must be registered with the Election Commission

• Parties not fulfilling 70% of their manifesto promises should be disqualified from contesting in the next elections. So that there is accountability along with accounts.

Some of the above ideas are indeed outrageous and outside the realm of today’s political imagination. However I strongly feel that small changes may not work. We need paradigm shifts. So that we actually see Democracy at work and not some “Democrazy”!!!

Related articles

• Karnataka headed for another round of fractured mandate (thehindu.com)

School finishes, “Classes” begin!!!

The usually nondescript commercial complex in my neighbourhood in Mumbai is buzzing with activity this morning.  As I get closer to the same, it appears as if yet another school has opened in that vicinity.  Very young boys and girls with infectious enthusiasm are chattering away as if they are catching up after a long while as they are waiting there.  It is 1^st day of their coaching classes during the summer vacation. The schools had closed last week for summer vacation. And the “Classes” have begun.

Closer at home, the situation isn’t very different. The school got over for my daughter who is all of 6. When the school re-opens, she gets into Class 1 and that’s after couple of months from now. Its vacation time now which means well, time for few “Classes”.  In this age of what I call as “Competitive parenting”, there is no dearth for options as far as “Classes” go.  In addition to the usual Drawing class, Activity class, Music class, Dance class, Craft lessons,… you are now presented with some more choice. Maths Classes, Veda classes, Vedic Maths classes, Abacus classes, Phonics classes, Reading skill classes,…,…  I’m yet to see the basic basic foundation course for IIT entrance for 6 year olds as yet.  But ofcourse for most parents attending the orientation session for ‘Abacus’ class, I’m sure the visuals of IIT campuses keep appearing amidst those Abacus frames and beads!  So as the vacation begins, my daughter is busier than ever not to mention of we parents doing the drop and pick up routine.

In our time, the drop and pick up routine of our dad was different.  Almost every year during summer holidays which is a clean break of 2 months from school, our native place beckoned. In those days, Kerala was yet to become “God’s own country” and our town – Kottayam was known more for rubber.  Today Kerala has become a global product and Kottayam as gateway to Kumarakom its main USP. “God of Small things” did its job I guess!!!

The countdown to the holidays begins with booking of the train tickets. In the pre-IRCTC days, thanks to the quota system every station had, it was easier booking the tickets if you plan.  On the appointed day, the entire family boarded the Island Express from Trichy to Kottayam to spend another vacation. So dad’s job is to drop us there and get back to work and lead a bachelor life for 2 months.  As the Island Express initially with coal engines and later with diesel engines kept chugging along, remembering and reeling off all the station names along the way was a favourite pastime. And indulging in some of the popular eateries of some of the stations was another. So “Idli/Dosa” at Olavakkode (now Palakkad) junction, “Ethakka Pazham Pori”(Fried Banana Bajji) at Ernakulam junction and “Paruppu Vada”( Dal Vada) at Piravam Road station were never missed.  Though as South Indians we keep eating Idli/Dosa 400 days in a year at home, the excitement we showed in eating that stuff from the VLR (Vegetarian Light Refreshment) stall in the station didn’t amuse our mother at all.  During the hour’s drive from Kottayam station to our place – Kidangoor, the excitement reaches a crescendo as we near the quaint  bridge across river Meenachil, cross the Kidangoor Murugan temple and finally reach our house after a 17 hour journey!! 

In the next few days, the cousins and aunts join while the uncles drop and leave.  For 2 months here on in the lap of nature, we indulged ourselves.  Taking bath in the river every day, those swimming lessons in vain, visit to the temple morning and evening and playing the whole day when not eating, NO TV, no mobile phones and no social media – meant Indulgence was bliss.  Talking of eating – our stomachs must be cursing the holidays. Our vacation time is overtime for those poor organs! Jackfruit, Mangoes, Ethapazham (Banana), Aanikka Vala (sorry, unsure of the English name),… and their by-products all vanish before they are served. The vacation routine always included one trip to the fields by our Grandfather – where we were treated with Tender coconut water. But the ultimate delight was in eating the Tender insides of a tender coconut with Vellam (Gur).  Remember in one of those field trips seeing with awe the making of fresh “Coconut oil” from dried coconut. One of my uncles cultivated sugar cane in his land and we were always eager to visit his field for fresh cane juice. There was one more guy who was extremely delighted to see us during hoildays. The paan shop wala right in front of our house whom we frequented very often.  Even today I don’t think anything can beat his fresh  ”Goli Soda” lemon juice for its freshness. 

With no TV and newspaper Ignorance was indeed bliss. Newspaper available was of Malayalam only which I couldn’t anyway comprehend.  I must add here that unlike in other states where the local language newspapers lacked quality, in Kerala the Malayalam newspapers – Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi were of high news and literary quality. One of my elder mamas (uncle) made it a point to get ‘The Hindu’ English newspaper even if it was delivered with one day lag and we use to catch up with all the news whenever we go that uncle’s house at Puliyanoor my mom’s place few kilometres from Kidangoor.  On one such catch-up came to know of India’s World cup win in June 1983 by the way!!!.  It was difficult to say if we were indulged more at our Dad’s place or at Mom’s place.

In Kerala, time meanders normally, but as vacation comes to an end one always felt that time flew! As time to pack up comes closer, Dad appears to pick us up again. Grandfather gets busy to pack things up for each of the families.  Individual cartons are filled with fresh homemade Banana Chips, Jack fruit chips, Chakka Varatti (Jack fruit jam), Mango pickles,… Any vacant spaces in those large cartons were finally filled with coconuts!!! Now you know why Dad has to come all the way to pick us up – with all those cartons and luggage pieces to lug, as many extra hands were welcome.  Back to Island Express and back to Trichy – the vacation hangover goes on for a few days till the eateries get over.

I had almost the same vacation routine till my 10^th std. when after that the tyranny of “Classes” began. The “Any professional course” obsession consumed my 11^th std. vacation and in fact vacations after that. But still the vacation time is etched in my memory as some great time in the growing up years.  A sense of guilt engulfs when you seem to deprive your kid of the same. Don’t know- may be if our daughter were to write a post on her vacations 30 years hence, you never know she may write nostalgically about the Class after Class she attended and enjoyed during her vacation time or so one hopes!!!

April and the IPL Typhoid !!!

Come April and it’s that time of the year when sections of people in India hate Modi. Wait a minute! Before the Modi brigade start trolling me, let me clarify. This is not NaMo the usual object of hate generally but LaMo – Lalit Modi who six years ago created a product called the Indian Premier League (IPL) and shifted permanently the centre of gravity of Cricket economics to India forever.  While IPL has triggered a craze in the country and is attempting to bridge the gap between “Bat & Fad”, there are the following naysayers:

• Women: Generally speaking in an average Indian home, the remote control is by and large with the woman. I meant the remote control of the TV ‘also’!!!  In between Cartoons/Disneys/Chota Bheems and Ram Kapoors/Jetha Lals/Parvati Bhabhis – it is not very unusual to see the Rajdeeps, Harshas & Barkas getting squeezed and edged out in the normal scheme of things. But come April, men who otherwise don’t get to establish their ‘control’ on the ‘remote’ have their last laugh and for 50 days – IPL takes over the airwaves inside the house. So, no wonder the moment the IPL promo ads start airing, you start hearing sounds of the grinding teeth amidst the “Gilli Gilli” sounds!
• Film Makers: Since weekends are usually cramped with double headers starting from 4.00 pm in the IPL, the usual crowd in theatres during weekends goes missing. Film makers take a break from releasing their new movies when IPL is on fearing a Box office disaster. Last year a producer who released his movie during IPL was feted with “Bahaduri Ka Puraskar” (Bravery Award) to keep the chin up of the movie fraternity!!
• Businessmen/Shopkeepers: In the pre-IPL days, weekends were times of heightened business activity as parents throng shops/outlets with children for ‘time-pass’ during vacation time and end up in a shopping spree.  Not any more. They themselves have to keep a TV set in their shops and watch IPL matches to keep them occupied in IPL season. Surprising that our politicians who are against FDI in retail are not against IPL!!!
• Hotels/Restaurants: This is a no brainer. If people stay indoors – there is certainly an effect on the eateries! Smart cookies started beaming IPL matches in big screens still to get people in. The jury is still out on if this strategy is working.
• TV Channels other than MAX: It is that part of the year when all the GE TV channels just cool their heels without launching any new big-ticket programmes/Reality Shows,… So the Indian Idols, Big Boss’, Super Singers, KBCs and their ilk all take a break during IPL and return post June.  As far as the news channels are concerned – they board the IPL bandwagon with their own pre and post-match programming.  Something is better than nothing! In other cases, they just have to live with the ignominy of poor TRPs. Just today I saw a tweet from a news caster  which goes thus :

“If blore bats first against hyd at 8pm, gayle wl also take viewers away fm my spl report on blore’s woes ahead of elex n headlines today  ”

Guess it’s because of the venomous curse of the above groups that Lalit Modi is sitting in the fringe somewhere in the UK these days tweeting live updates on IPL matches instead of being at the centre of action in India during IPL!!!

Having said that, jokes apart – IPL has been a revelation. Inspite of the exit of its creator – Lalit Modi and the tribulations some of the team owners are going through oflate, it’s still proving that the success in the 1^st few seasons was not a fluke.  And one must hand it over to Lalit Modi for first creating the product and then demonstrating how to manage the product successfully. I’ve no doubts in my mind that the last few years of IPL basically have been “Copy & Paste” of the formula Modi worked out in the formative years.  Whether it is the format, the auctions, opening and closing ceremonies, outsourced Game organization, telecast, pre and post-game hype and hoopla,… it has “Modi Chaap” even today. What is missing today is the orchestrated PR plugs which Modi had a penchant for.  I remember in the 1^st few editions, there were deliberate attempts to keep IPL in the news during the long drawn campaign.  Just when the games start getting into a repetitive monotony (same teams playing against each other “n” number of times) there will emerge some scandalous off the field story which will bring IPL back in the news (Remember Harbhajan slapping Sreesanth in 2008???)

While I started this piece on a lighter vein with an introduction to IPL’s hate groups, on a serious note, its worth looking at IPL’s effects on the economy. I read somewhere that when Brazil wins the World Cup the country’s GDP in that year expands by an additional x % as people revel in the feel good ambience and end up spending a lot of money and a Baby Boom ensues!! I feel when Brazil loses, it also spurs the economy – only that this time it’s just the liquor economy as people keep drinking to drown their sorrow

Given this connection between sporting success and economy of the country, let’s look at the IPL effect on the economy:

• The obvious one is its avatar as a “Job Fair”. Look at the opportunity it provides to so many fringe cricketers like the Gonys, Anirudhs,…who may find it hard to break into an Indian team. Then you have the band of ex – cricketers who get the chance to stay in the limelight as coaches/advisors,.. of IPL teams or get employed as experts and commentators on TV and some of them as columnists in newspapers/Web. Suddenly you find Kapil Dev who was the brand ambassador in the opposite camp (ICL) burying all animosity and doing the “Jumping Japak” routine with Sidhu and mouthing expert comments. Apart from that you have so many other indirect jobs – curators, security, catering, transport, bouncers,…,…
• Then you have the other impact on the economy – Hotels, Airlines, Media, Consumer goods,…

The positive latent effect on the economy is what Shashi Tharoor cited as a main reason for his keenness on a Kochi team in IPL which he attempted to stitch together. Rightly so.

So what if there are a few hatemongers and worrywarts on IPL? Now that the IPL-6 typhoid has set in, let’s contribute to the IPL economy. As Farah Khan exhorts in that cool IPL-6 campaign – Sirf Dekhne Ka Nahi!!!

Law & Life in “Rageistan”!!!

“Nayee Dilli – Mar 22nd,2033  

In what was the “Rape Capital” of India – Nayee Dilli (once called New Delhi) feverish activity is going on in the Government circles to observe and celebrate the 20^th year anniversary of passing of the ‘Criminal Law ( Amendment) Bill 2013 more commonly known as the “Anti Rape Law”.  Why not? As per statistics released by the Home Ministry on the eve of the anniversary, rape as an offence has been steadily on the decline since the day the Anti-Rape law saw the light of the day and is almost wiped out since last 5 years in India.  The silent winding up of quite a few women organisations supporting the cause of women safety in the last many years supports the statistic.  Units which we were in the business of mfg. ‘Pepper sprays’ and other handy weapons have been consistently reporting losses in the few years and reportedly now turning sick and since this activity was reserved for Small Scale Industries it is turning into a new head ache for the Government.    The Home Minister is slated to address an “Online” presser in a short while where even common public can ask questions (which are pre approved by the ministry). Not only Dilli, but across the once notorious rape Kendra’s of India, women now walked freely in the night, partied hard with ‘gay’ abandon, took up night shift jobs without fright and almost all countries lifted their travel advisories for women against travelling to India which has been in vogue since 2013.  In short one can conclude that India finally attained “Real freedom” as envisioned by Father of the Nation – Mahatma Gandhi”

Cut, Cut, Cut – Well, that was a fantasy ride into the future. Let’s get back to reality of today. After the furore in the country in the aftermath of an extremely reprehensible act which happened in Delhi in Dec 2012, the Indian Government moved fast to pass the Anti-Rape Law on the 22^nd Mar 2013.  The new law includes new offences like acid attack, sexual harassment, voyeurism, stalking… in the Indian Penal code.  It has also changed the definition of rape (sexual assault now) and finally has declared life punishment as the maximum punishment for most of the rape related crimes.

Now the question which comes uppermost in my mind and I would like to hear the answer from the female fraternity is with the passing of this bill, do they feel safer in India than before?  This question arises because in India we have some greatly drafted laws but rendered useless at the end of the day due to poor implementation. “Tough laws combined with tough implementation” is the need of the hour.  It’s now 3 months since the ‘Delhi horror’ happened and as it slowly moves out of the collective memories of all of us, the case is still meandering in the courts. One would have thought that it was such an “Open and Shut” case that by now the punishment would have been awarded and the case closed.  Not surprising in a country where it has taken 20 full years to finally ‘sort of’ get a partial closure to the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case.  Recall the well scripted “Chalta Rahe” TVC for ‘Greenply’??? If not, do check this link. That sums it all.

Hence my fervent hope that the “Anti Rape Law” got debated and discussed adequately not only in terms of the provisions of the law but also the mechanism of implementation of the law itself. On both fronts it was a big disappointment. From all accounts, it was travesty of a debate with MPs exchanging views and passing frivolous oracular comments about wooing women as men’s most favourite, undeniable pastime and birthright!!! Only one-third of the MPs turned up at the Lok Sabha when the bill was debated – so much for lessons learnt and regret after the ‘Nirbhaya‘ incident!

First on the provisions of the law -

• The maximum punishment was limited to life imprisonment while there was a mass public outcry for Capital punishment or Castration for the guilty.   While there are arguments for and against primordial punishments like Capital punishment or Castration in a civilised society, my point is – a society in which women have to live in fear is never a “Civilised society”. So we could turn to more civil punishments when we become a civilised one.  Till then we must have tough laws with tough punishments for heinous crimes which eventually act as deterrents. And rape is certainly one I believe.
• Recently I was reading Vinod Mehta’s book “The Sanjay Story” an account (not a biography) on Sanjay Gandhi.  In that book, one chapter titled “Indiri Bachao” (Save your Penis) focusses on the Mass Sterilization programme which Sanjay Gandhi championed.  It seems initially when Sanjay ’cut’ loose this programme it was a dud and was not taking off because men didn’t want to go under the knife. In India procreation was considered such a manly thing that men were reluctant to give up that “right”. Finally Sanjay Gandhi had to adopt all techniques under the sun from incentives like Radio sets, Rice, Cash, Jobs to ‘Force’ through the local police to achieve sterilization targets. My limited point is – taking away the right of a man to procreate through sterilization or castration whichever way you call it can be a big deterrent to a crime like Rape if that was the punishment believe you me.

Second on the implementation of the law –

• No provisions / ideas for fast track courts for trials for rape cases
• No thought of an exclusive all women court to try these cases
• No new nothing!

We all know that the same we Indians behave adequately well when we step out of our shores. The difference I see is not the laws themselves but quick and tough execution of the laws and hence the fear of breaking the law.

In summary, we have another law which has just tinkered here and there with the existing provisions rather than a “Zero based” law.  Hence my fundamental question which I posed – Do women feel safer today ?

Preface: Please replace the word ‘G’ by ‘P’ in the word “Rageistan” in the title and read.   For, looking at the rape incidents of Indian women and foreign tourists of late, Incredible India may soon earn that title!!!

Also Read : My earlier post : Women Vs. We Men in India http://wp.me/p1dZc2-d6

Related articles

• India toughens laws against rape (sfgate.com)
• New India anti-rape law allows for death sentences (foxnews.com)
• 25% Drop in Tourist arrivals since Dec !!!

Now Showing – “Board Exams”

For this time of the year, the temperature in the last few days in Mumbai has been few degrees higher than normal.  One tends to attribute the same to the usual suspect called “Global Warming”.  But I suspect that the higher temperature this time overall is due to the “Exam fever” every house hold is seemingly suffering from – these days!  In India this is the season for the SSC (10th) exam and the “life threatening” HSC (12th) exams now and my best wishes at the outset to all the students who are going through the rigmarole.  Absenteeism in companies is at a high as parents take leave in turns to be with their kids and provide moral support as they prepare for the ‘board’ exams.  Film makers who aspire to be in the 100 Crore club avoid release of their movies in this tense period.  In these highly competitive times, board exam times are becoming “testing” times for the parents, grandparents and the ilk.  

I’m not sure if this aura around ‘Board’ exam is only in India or it is a universal phenomenon. India made a 1^st step towards easing the burden on students when Kapil Sibal, the then minister for HRD, made the board exam for 10^th standard an optional affair from 2011. I’m not well-informed on how this optional thing works or doesn’t work.   However the tyranny of the board exam continues for 12^th Std to this day.

I have vivid memories of my tryst with board exams which started with the 10^th way back in 1983. In our predominantly Hindu – Brahmin school in Trichy, the hall tickets were handed over after a puja at the temple. On the appointed day, all the students and respective teachers of the 10^th class were taken to the temple for the Puja. My neighbour and friend who used to be in a Catholic school said that in their school, the hall tickets were handed over after a prayer at the church. So I concluded that all religions took board exams seriously and board exams by nature were secular!  By the time I came to 12^th there was no need to take the walk to the temple for collecting the hall ticket. The school by then made strides and collected enough funds to build a small temple within the school premises itself.  To take care of the Saivite and Vaishnavite sensibilities or rather their academic aspirations, the temple was built with 2 presiding deities – Ganesh and Hanuman. 

In a neighbourhood Ganesh Temple the priest – an old pious man would give us specially worshipped ‘vibhudhi’ individually to each of us to be applied just before we open the question paper.  During exam time, he reminded us kids not to forget to collect the same before the exam begins and we did so religiously.  As quaint as it may seem, the lines to collect this ‘vibhudhi’ from him were quite long during board exam times with even non regulars to the temple queuing up.  That the old man was carrying out this practice without expecting any monetary consideration is in stark contrast to the materialistic world of today.

As soon as the 11^th exams were over, the preparation for 12^th started.  The idea was to start early and complete the portions by Dec. In preparation for the 12^th board exam in April, the classes get over by Dec and the next 3 months one is at home to prepare for the final kill. I must admit here that though the board exam fever was running high, we were quite relaxed and taking it easy.  So much so that we didn’t resist watching the entire “Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket” which took place in March 1985 in Australia.  Following the World Cup win in 1983, India continued its winning stretch in One Dayers beating Pakistan in the finals in this tournament.   Watching almost all the matches live on TV with mates that too at a friend’s place and rooting for India bring back unforgettable memories. Ravi Shastri became a (to borrow today’s vocab) “hash tag” overnight after being crowned as “Champion of Champions” in that tournament and ‘Audi’ got into the lexicon of the Indian youth.   Looking back I realize that this tournament provided for a much needed break in between our continuous study routine and acted as a stress buster.

While one starts getting into the trappings of the board exams – the refrain all around is “prepare well for this one last time, get good marks and you are set for life”!!!  But the truth is far from it. The competitive rat race of life continues post the board exams as well.  Only that you start getting used to it!!! The jury is still out on whether academic excellence matters at the end of the day and is the passport to success. As somebody said, academic excellence may well provide you the “Passport” but you still need the “Visa”!!!

It is nobody’s case that there is no need for an assessment in the form of an exam. It’s just that a complete focus on one final exam puts so much pressure and one bad day in office or rather the exam hall can put paid to an aspirant’s career hopes in today’s system. A movement to a continuous and regular assessment is the way forward.  Can our pragmatic and hardworking minister Shashi Tharoor ring in a change ???

On a Sunday as I am writing this post, my six year old daughter is quite engrossed in the movie “3 Idiots” for the “N+1”th time.  As the main protagonist Aamir Khan launches his diatribe on the present education system which gives so much weightage to marks and marks alone, I’m not sure if she realizes what’s in store for her. I hope by the time she is in her 10^th, the so called ‘board’ exams have lived their lives and have been consigned to history.  The selfish thought being we as parents will be freed of the ‘board’ Exam fever!!!

Let me close this piece now as I have to rush my daughter to the dance class for well ………. an exam

Postscript: If people who are in Twitter are “Tweeples”, people who suffer from Exams are “Examples”

Related articles

• Two years on, CBSE exam system continues to test parents, students (thehindu.com)
• Students, teachers brace for board exams (thehindu.com)
• Stay calm, be happy (thehindu.com)

Blasts in India – A Time Line

Bomb blast in Hyderabad

Twin blasts in Hyderabad

Breaking News in TV

Breaking tweets on Twitter

Chaos at Blast site

Chaos outside Home minister’s office

Other cities on alert

Mumbai on more alert

Messages, Rumours

Tweets, Updates

Home Minister speaks to the Media in Delhi

Chief Minister speaks to the Media in Hyderabad

Centre blames State

State blames Centre

“We had intelligence about the blasts”

We don’t have the “intelligence” to act and prevent it

PM strongly condemns attack

PM appeals for calm, announces compensation to victims

TV Anchors get angry

Arnab Goswami gets angrier

Heated Debates in TV Newsrooms

Unabated discussions in social media

Home Minister visits site

Politicians and VVIPs visit site

“No Clues so far” say the Police

“Pakistan is behind the attack” says the Opposition leader

Home Minister reads out statement in Parliament

Opposition leaders make speeches in Parliament

HM : We condemn this dastardly attack

Opposition leader No. 1 : We condemn this heinous attack

Opposition leader No. 2 : We condemn this blatant attack

Opposition leader No. 3 : We condemn this audacious attack

Home Minister is glad that the entire House is united

Opposition asks for Home Minister’s resignation

Clues point to IM’s Hand in the blast

Clues pointed to IM’s Hand in Mumbai, Pune & other blasts

Anger in TV studios

Anger in social media

Anger in Parliament

Anger in Streets

Victims fight for their lives

Victims fight for their compensation

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Bomb Blast at _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Twin Blasts at _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Breaking News in TV

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Mera Bharat Kahan ???