Opportunities and better opportunities—is there any end to it? You just go on & on. You need to decide. You are either this side or the other side, you cannot always take the middle path. And almost always we want to take the path in-between almost in everything.
Mumbai is the city of opportunities. You will ask for one, you will get hundred. But what happens to life? My personal experience is it is very tiring and exhausting. Life in Mumbai drains you and you need tremendous amount of energy to sustain there. Picture this; you get up in the morning according to what time you have to catch the train. You keep at least 45 minutes for commuting, even more in most cases. But 45 minutes is minimum, if we keep the case of lucky few aside.
You reach office anytime between 9.30 and 10 am. By that time, you probably missed your regular local or caught it just-in-time, in which case you did not get a seat and kept standing and struggling to get some fresh air, throughout your journey. Even if you managed to sit, you probably squeezed in between a fat aunty who would not budge even an inch and another who is already struggling to keep herself on the seat. If you get down at Lower Parel, then God only can save you. Perhaps 80% of the entire Borivali to Churchgate crowd gets down there; so you really got to struggle to get down at the right time. And if you do not have to get down and still you are anywhere near the entrance, even God cannot save you. Abuses are hurled at you and people stamp your feet and you are pushed from all sides. When you finally get down at your station you wonder if the day has actually begun or ended! But you are not so lucky because the day has just begun, and anyways you are in Mumbai, my dear!
Then you get out of the station, and you are into yet another struggle to manoeuvre your way into a cab. And finally, you land up into your office. While entering your office, the first thought that crosses your mind is—is it only a Tuesday! 4 more days for the weekend! Oh God, please give me strength to go through this entire week successfully. Then its time to check your mails and make job list for the day. Obviously, you do not need to make new ones everyday, just change the date of the job list, which you made earlier because anyways jobs don’t get over just like that. It takes its own pace to see the end of it. Let’s not get into the details of the “exciting” work we do. Somehow, we just manage to get through the day after many cups of tea and coffee, many rounds of gossip and bitching and obviously looking at the watch twice per second (if that is possible). While going back at 9 pm we think about all the wonderful things our friends are doing, the fat packages they are drawing for doing “exciting” jobs and also about our own pathos and whether we are going to feel the same each day for the rest of our work life. Whatever happened to job satisfaction and “my work is my hobby” kind of life?
When you get back there is no energy left for doing anything else. You just look at the piles of “nice” books you got to read, that some day you would read them! So that’s life in Mumbai where you get time to talk to your loved ones from your office phone or while struggling in locals.
Take Two. You get up in the morning. You feel the fresh air of the morning. You do not have to rush to board a local so you take your time. You exercise, go for a walk, even cook your breakfast. Then you leisurely get ready, and still reach office by 9 am. Okay, 9.15 0r 9.20 am. You check your mails, reply a couple of them and take necessary actions for the urgent ones. You go for tea at 10 am and the day sails along smoothly. Before you realize, it is 6 pm. Normally you get back to home by 7 pm, then you go to Gym or play Badminton or just go out for a movie. You do not have to wait for the next weekend to enjoy yourself! You do all that and then you enjoy your book too. You catch up with friends and sometimes gossip till wee hours of the morning. Welcome to life in Pune.
Yes, you give up “better” job opportunities but you get a better life in bargain, where you can just pause for a moment to enjoy yourself, without missing your local!
Your life is an outcome of the choices you make in life—today I truly understand the meaning of this line.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Mundane & not so Mundane
Sooner or later life tends to become routine. You can’t help it. Nobody can. When something changes, either it gets exciting or rocks your world but after that phase passes; life makes a routine out of the new things developed out of changes. Yet again.
When I see a Mumbai-Pune bus, old memories come alive, how I used to commute between Mumbai & Pune! Life was literally on the fast lane. But then Mumbai does that to you. You just have to find time for everything in the time available. So you end up running against time. I know I sound like someone who really hates Mumbai. I really do! Some of my friends remember me when they think about who is the person who hates Mumbai the most!
Even going to Mumbai for a day’s trip makes old memories come alive, and I just thank God that I am not in Mumbai anymore. When somebody says that I love Mumbai! I really wonder, did I miss something which this person has experienced and enjoyed.
Recently, one of my friends called up to inform about some job opportunity there. Ha! Are you mad? I am not going to swap my life here for anything, or more correctly, I would not want a life in Mumbai for anything. Frankly, I am a little laid back person. I love working and, mind you, I am very honest towards my work; but I do not want those so-called career opportunities by putting my entire life in stake.
Just think, why do we keep running? Why there is no end to our wants? Why we are never satisfied with what we get? Eventually, what matters is—are you having a good time right now? Not later, not after one year, not after retirement, Right Now!!! If not, then what is the point I am proving to myself with the loads of money I earn? That my worth is more than my peers? This anyways is highly subjective and nobody other than yourself can ever gauge your true worth! So do we try to ascertain that I am capable of earning so much that I can buy the best gadgets in the market and blow money at whims & fancies? Well, in that case, any amount of money can never be enough to cater to whims & fancies.
When I see a Mumbai-Pune bus, old memories come alive, how I used to commute between Mumbai & Pune! Life was literally on the fast lane. But then Mumbai does that to you. You just have to find time for everything in the time available. So you end up running against time. I know I sound like someone who really hates Mumbai. I really do! Some of my friends remember me when they think about who is the person who hates Mumbai the most!
Even going to Mumbai for a day’s trip makes old memories come alive, and I just thank God that I am not in Mumbai anymore. When somebody says that I love Mumbai! I really wonder, did I miss something which this person has experienced and enjoyed.
Recently, one of my friends called up to inform about some job opportunity there. Ha! Are you mad? I am not going to swap my life here for anything, or more correctly, I would not want a life in Mumbai for anything. Frankly, I am a little laid back person. I love working and, mind you, I am very honest towards my work; but I do not want those so-called career opportunities by putting my entire life in stake.
Just think, why do we keep running? Why there is no end to our wants? Why we are never satisfied with what we get? Eventually, what matters is—are you having a good time right now? Not later, not after one year, not after retirement, Right Now!!! If not, then what is the point I am proving to myself with the loads of money I earn? That my worth is more than my peers? This anyways is highly subjective and nobody other than yourself can ever gauge your true worth! So do we try to ascertain that I am capable of earning so much that I can buy the best gadgets in the market and blow money at whims & fancies? Well, in that case, any amount of money can never be enough to cater to whims & fancies.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Forwarded wisdom!
There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second
richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:
1)He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
2)He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3)He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4)He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5)He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6)His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.
7)He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget
rule number 1.
8)He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch
television.
9)Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time
only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
10)Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.
11)His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.
Cheers!!!
richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:
1)He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
2)He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3)He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4)He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5)He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6)His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.
7)He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget
rule number 1.
8)He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch
television.
9)Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time
only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
10)Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.
11)His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.
Cheers!!!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Draupadi-an intrigue
I have been thinking about some topics to dwell on and research. I have particularly found the character of Draupadi from Mahabharata, quite intriguing. Long time back, while in college, my room-mate and best friend, was reading a book on Draupadi called Jagyaseni by Pratibha Roy. It was in Oriya, so I could not have the good fortune of reading it, but my friend was sweet enough to take me through it while reading it herself. And I was immensely amazed and involved in that book. I tried finding an English or Hindi version of the same but I could not. I don’t know if its translations exist at all.
Even after that instance, I have come across the story of Draupadi in bits and pieces, here and there. There have been short stories and instances from Mahabharata. What I recall of the Mahabharata we saw on TV, I think the story was not perfect! Besides, I think the story shown on TV was quite straight and in white and black. It never attempted to dwell on each of the enigmatic characters of Mahabharata, and even Ramayana, for that matter. And I truly believe that the Mahabharata which we normally come across, is a little exaggerated. You definitely don’t believe that Bhishma would have slept on a bed of arrows for days and that too, pointed side up!!! I remember, I read in Times of India perhaps, that it is written in Mahabharata that Bhishma slept on a bed of arrows. Now this could also be interpreted as a bed of arrows, wherein the arrows are side-ways and not the pointed side up! But we like to believe what we like to believe.
Even after that instance, I have come across the story of Draupadi in bits and pieces, here and there. There have been short stories and instances from Mahabharata. What I recall of the Mahabharata we saw on TV, I think the story was not perfect! Besides, I think the story shown on TV was quite straight and in white and black. It never attempted to dwell on each of the enigmatic characters of Mahabharata, and even Ramayana, for that matter. And I truly believe that the Mahabharata which we normally come across, is a little exaggerated. You definitely don’t believe that Bhishma would have slept on a bed of arrows for days and that too, pointed side up!!! I remember, I read in Times of India perhaps, that it is written in Mahabharata that Bhishma slept on a bed of arrows. Now this could also be interpreted as a bed of arrows, wherein the arrows are side-ways and not the pointed side up! But we like to believe what we like to believe.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Job-hopping
I read somewhere that “in life, when you start feeling jealous about a friend and the way she feels about her job, well, dude, it is time for you to move on!”
Of late, I have been thinking about what would I really want to do with my life! Should I make it just a money-spinning ride? Or go beyond it? I don’t know. I mean I try to think about this objectively. As much as possible. I have quit my job. You can call it a little whimsical or impulsive decision! In fact, it does not sound for real at all! I HAVE QUIT MY JOB! Man!!!What am I going to do? (For starters, I do not have an Offer letter in hand). How am I going to find another job? And one more problem I am facing is that, what kind of job would I want to do? I don’t know if I am asking this question to myself, a little too late. But some of us live our entire lives, even thinking about this aspect.
Life never fails to intrigue me. I did not get it out of choice. I got it by chance. What am I supposed to do with it? Nobody told me! Well, people tried telling me, but I always thought otherwise. My family thinks I just keep on hopping from one thing to another just for the heck of it. But I think I pity myself for living about 25 years of my life, and not knowing what am I going to do for the rest of it.
Right now I am looking for jobs which are similar to the one which I have done for the last one year, just because it is the most logical thing to do. Although I already overlooked logic and sense (in the accepted form) while quitting.
My boss thinks I am not only foolish but also stupid. I don’t want to even think about that aspect. I think I am reasonably intelligent. I think logically. So I am fine in that department. The problem is I ask too much question from life. People think I am crazy to give up such a dream job and go back to starting from the scratch. However, I think that if I know where I am going and what I want to achieve, then I would not mind starting it from scratch. The problem is I don’t know.
Let me see, what my options are. I am really really keen on is a short-term course in creative writing. I want to tell stories but I don’t have any right now. In India, there is hardly any decent institute conducting any such course, which is worth my time and energy. Besides, I also love reading. I have gathered from somewhere that if you love reading then publishing houses are the place for you, where they receive a lot of manuscripts. You have to go through them and identify the money-spinners. I would love to WRITE. I know I am telling this nth time but then that is the only truth of my life. I dream of a place where I am surrounded by all the books I want to read and I am being paid to read them. How cool!!!
Of late, I have been thinking about what would I really want to do with my life! Should I make it just a money-spinning ride? Or go beyond it? I don’t know. I mean I try to think about this objectively. As much as possible. I have quit my job. You can call it a little whimsical or impulsive decision! In fact, it does not sound for real at all! I HAVE QUIT MY JOB! Man!!!What am I going to do? (For starters, I do not have an Offer letter in hand). How am I going to find another job? And one more problem I am facing is that, what kind of job would I want to do? I don’t know if I am asking this question to myself, a little too late. But some of us live our entire lives, even thinking about this aspect.
Life never fails to intrigue me. I did not get it out of choice. I got it by chance. What am I supposed to do with it? Nobody told me! Well, people tried telling me, but I always thought otherwise. My family thinks I just keep on hopping from one thing to another just for the heck of it. But I think I pity myself for living about 25 years of my life, and not knowing what am I going to do for the rest of it.
Right now I am looking for jobs which are similar to the one which I have done for the last one year, just because it is the most logical thing to do. Although I already overlooked logic and sense (in the accepted form) while quitting.
My boss thinks I am not only foolish but also stupid. I don’t want to even think about that aspect. I think I am reasonably intelligent. I think logically. So I am fine in that department. The problem is I ask too much question from life. People think I am crazy to give up such a dream job and go back to starting from the scratch. However, I think that if I know where I am going and what I want to achieve, then I would not mind starting it from scratch. The problem is I don’t know.
Let me see, what my options are. I am really really keen on is a short-term course in creative writing. I want to tell stories but I don’t have any right now. In India, there is hardly any decent institute conducting any such course, which is worth my time and energy. Besides, I also love reading. I have gathered from somewhere that if you love reading then publishing houses are the place for you, where they receive a lot of manuscripts. You have to go through them and identify the money-spinners. I would love to WRITE. I know I am telling this nth time but then that is the only truth of my life. I dream of a place where I am surrounded by all the books I want to read and I am being paid to read them. How cool!!!
Monday, July 17, 2006
Oh Beautiful world of Romance
Lately, I am in the process of re-discovering the simple and innocent joys of Archies' and Mills & Boons! They remind me of the carefree and restless days of teenage, the mushy imagery of the world outside, the perplexity of unknown future, the infatuations, the temptations, the enormity of unimportant issues, the girlie-gossips!!! Teenage comes alive!
Mills & Boons, for the beginners, are novels with out of the world notions of romance and passion. A gullible teenage mind comes to and tends to believe in the love portrayed by those novels. But when you grow up, you understand the innocence behind it all. A typical M&B romance would have a 19-25 year old female protagonist, and a 35-5 year old male protagonist. A female contender, who would always be older than the heroine and a male admirer, who would always be younger than the hero! The heroine would always be either a secretary or a nurse or an interior decorator or the likes. While the hero most definitely would be tycoon in whatever field that suits you. The heroine would be a delicate beauty and the hero would be a tough and rugged but extremely handsome man! And they have to keep fighting and make love off and on till the "lived happily ever after" end! So, as you can see, I have cracked the code of M&B.
I read somewhere that M&B mostly has female readers and several male authors write under female pen names because believe it or not, such romantic novels are meant for and read by women, the world over. Look at me, I have read close to 200 M&Bs. Romance always takes the tension out of the window and word looks rosy-coloured. Isn't it?
Mills & Boons, for the beginners, are novels with out of the world notions of romance and passion. A gullible teenage mind comes to and tends to believe in the love portrayed by those novels. But when you grow up, you understand the innocence behind it all. A typical M&B romance would have a 19-25 year old female protagonist, and a 35-5 year old male protagonist. A female contender, who would always be older than the heroine and a male admirer, who would always be younger than the hero! The heroine would always be either a secretary or a nurse or an interior decorator or the likes. While the hero most definitely would be tycoon in whatever field that suits you. The heroine would be a delicate beauty and the hero would be a tough and rugged but extremely handsome man! And they have to keep fighting and make love off and on till the "lived happily ever after" end! So, as you can see, I have cracked the code of M&B.
I read somewhere that M&B mostly has female readers and several male authors write under female pen names because believe it or not, such romantic novels are meant for and read by women, the world over. Look at me, I have read close to 200 M&Bs. Romance always takes the tension out of the window and word looks rosy-coloured. Isn't it?
Friday, July 07, 2006
It rained last night!!!!
It was the 5th day of consecutive rains in Mumbai. A Wednesday. I had went to office on Tuesday only to find that hardly anybody had turned up, so I just ended up checking my mails and sailing through the pages on Orkut. Then we had trouble coming back home also. Since the trains had already stopped thus I had to rake my brains and decide whether to accompany my friends in a cab or just wait for the trains to start working again, no matter how much time it takes. I have a thing against taking roads in Mumbai, it takes unnecessarily loooooooong time to reach your destination and especially at a time when everyone would be rushing home, I was unable to decide whether it is sensible to take a cab home—from Worli to Andheri, that too Andheri-east!!! Anyways, I always think it is better to get stuck with 3 other people with you rather then be grounded alone as I am not very well-versed with Mumbai yet, and besides I have no other place to go, except home! So I had to give up the temptation of taking the train.
Luckily, we had no problems till Bandra, where we dropped 2 of our friends. Then we took the highway, till Vile Parle. From there, my friend’s car picked us up; and she dropped me on the Andheri Western Highway. I was relaxed after that because my place is quite close to it, so I walked till there. Since the time I have walked from my office in Worli to Andheri, it has become a standard for me. So whenever I have to decide to walk I compare it with 26th July’s experience, and I know if it is within my capacity!!!
I reached home safely, and shortly after that it started pouring like anything. So from Tue evening and the entire Wed, I had lots of time on hand. I watched TV non-stop, nothing in particular, news in general! And I read Archies’ and also started a Mills & Boon. MBs are funny things. I think it is unrealistic, senseless, too naïve and too teenager-type for me! But I still like to read these romantic novels to take the tension out of my system. It takes you to another world. It does not matter that it is still stupid. But I am not ashamed to admit that I have read more than 150 of these stupid novels. They are real stress busters.
And guess what, I am sure many people came across a fully-clothed Rakhi Sawant taking interviews yesterday, on India TV. So for CNN-IBN’s Citizen Journalist Raveena Tandon Thadani , India TV answered with Rakhi Sawant!!!Pheewwww!
Luckily, we had no problems till Bandra, where we dropped 2 of our friends. Then we took the highway, till Vile Parle. From there, my friend’s car picked us up; and she dropped me on the Andheri Western Highway. I was relaxed after that because my place is quite close to it, so I walked till there. Since the time I have walked from my office in Worli to Andheri, it has become a standard for me. So whenever I have to decide to walk I compare it with 26th July’s experience, and I know if it is within my capacity!!!
I reached home safely, and shortly after that it started pouring like anything. So from Tue evening and the entire Wed, I had lots of time on hand. I watched TV non-stop, nothing in particular, news in general! And I read Archies’ and also started a Mills & Boon. MBs are funny things. I think it is unrealistic, senseless, too naïve and too teenager-type for me! But I still like to read these romantic novels to take the tension out of my system. It takes you to another world. It does not matter that it is still stupid. But I am not ashamed to admit that I have read more than 150 of these stupid novels. They are real stress busters.
And guess what, I am sure many people came across a fully-clothed Rakhi Sawant taking interviews yesterday, on India TV. So for CNN-IBN’s Citizen Journalist Raveena Tandon Thadani , India TV answered with Rakhi Sawant!!!Pheewwww!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Insensible Sensitivities
Human beings are really an incomprehensible, insensible and strange lot. Yesterday while I was surfing channels on TV, I saw Amir Khan giving interviews and he sounded angry. That was enough to hold my attention more than even any of our own ads! What I heard and comprehended turned out to be such a stupid issue that I wonder why I am writing about it and why it has become a matter of national debate. The point of contention is Amir’s film “Fanaa” being stopped from being screened in Gujarat, because apparently Amir had offended the sentiments of the people of Gujarat by supporting the rehabilitation of people being affected by Narmada dam!Whoof! First of all, I wonder what is wrong with supporting the rehabilitation of people who would be affected because of the dam. Secondly, I fail to understand why people of Gujarat would be offended by someone being rehabilitated.
Even right now, while I’m writing this, I’m watching an interview of Amir with Rajdeep Sardesai on CNN-IBN!
Even right now, while I’m writing this, I’m watching an interview of Amir with Rajdeep Sardesai on CNN-IBN!
Friday, May 26, 2006
No Reservations about thoughts
Reservations! Right now, it is the talk of the town, or more specifically, the country. But look at me. I am also one of the many people who are sitting on the saddle and watching the match, as if this does not affect us. We have done this so often that now we have got used to it. Be it the government of our country, the political situation, the freedom of expression, the crime against women, the illogical societal norms, the mindless riots, the terrorism, the injustice—we wait for others to go ahead and fight case on our behalf. We are happy to be part of the crowd. Nameless! Faceless!
Frankly speaking, I have not been able to decide whether I am in favour of reservations or against it. I think Reservations for SC, ST & OBC were institutionalized to uplift them at par with others. Over the years, the so-called “lower caste” people have been oppressed and victimized by the “upper-castes”. The reservations in educational institutes were to educate them and uplift their status in the society. Another thing was that over the years, these people had been fooled into doing menial jobs for others. Now with education, they can take decisions and be aware of the consequences of those decisions.
Going a little back in time, Mahatma Gandhi introduced castes & religions to Indian politics (I have no idea why?). And everyone knows what this caste-based politics has come to be today! Selfish politicians play games with poor, uneducated lower-caste people, and fill their vote-banks; and promise food, housing, jobs, better infrastructure and now, reservations in return. Nobody is bothered about what happens to the “General" category. All political parties are playing their dirty politics with the future of this country.
We have had reservations in our system since years; I don’t know how much it has helped. Like any other noble idea, it has gone haywire. My own observation of so-called lower-caste people has been that sometimes I have found entire families of doctors and engineers; while sometimes there are families who have not been able to educate their children to primary school also. They have no idea, how to! It is quite obvious that the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer.
The idea behind reservation is to uplift the weaker sections of society. For that matter, I would not shy away from raising the issue of reservations for women. I don’t know there should be reservation for women or not. When I think about our local trains, and imagine life without Ladies’ compartment; I’m all for reservations for women in local trains. I cannot imagine travelling in the General compartment. The problem would be obvious if you have seen a local train; and you would empathise, if you have traveled in one. But when it comes to reservation in educational institutes, I don’t really think, it is required. I accept that women are physically less strong than men, but intellectually they are at par! But the point again comes to the fact that we have a history of years of oppression of women. So perhaps for sometime this reservation can help bring more & more girls to school, and ensure representation of women in every sphere of society--be it education, academics or politics. Now this problem leads to the problem of girl-education. Thus, the problem is so complicated and inter-related that it is very difficult to say that we do not want reservations at all!
Coming back to the current problem, we definitely do not want 50% of our seats reserved. Imagine fighting for only half the seats. Already, it is accepted that the entrance exam for IIM Ahmedabad is one of the toughest in the world. Imagine what would happen to the next generation. Would it be worth fighting for getting into IIMs & IITs of the country? Even now, people start questioning their own abilities when they fail to get through IIMs & IITs. As if not getting there makes you less intelligent and a lower grade individual. People have gone places and conquered world without those degrees. There is no doubt about the quality of people who make it to these premiere institutes, but we cannot question the intellect of thousands who don’t make it. The problem now moves to our education system and social orientations and acceptance. You can gauge the difference in the attitude of people when they discover that you are from IIM or some other MBA institute, similarly, IIT vis-a-vis regional colleges. In fact, even my orientation also is similar but of course, it is not logical! We have too many prejudices and limitations. The problem is also that most of our parents expect us to be doctors or engineers. There is no doubt that their intention is to see their children successful and secure in life, but sometimes they take it a little too far.
Moving back to the main issue of contention, I think in no time, most of the educated class who can send their children abroad, would start looking at it as a better option. When you start getting step-motherly treatment in your country, you need to look beyond it. And in no time, government would crib about brain drain.
Frankly speaking, I have not been able to decide whether I am in favour of reservations or against it. I think Reservations for SC, ST & OBC were institutionalized to uplift them at par with others. Over the years, the so-called “lower caste” people have been oppressed and victimized by the “upper-castes”. The reservations in educational institutes were to educate them and uplift their status in the society. Another thing was that over the years, these people had been fooled into doing menial jobs for others. Now with education, they can take decisions and be aware of the consequences of those decisions.
Going a little back in time, Mahatma Gandhi introduced castes & religions to Indian politics (I have no idea why?). And everyone knows what this caste-based politics has come to be today! Selfish politicians play games with poor, uneducated lower-caste people, and fill their vote-banks; and promise food, housing, jobs, better infrastructure and now, reservations in return. Nobody is bothered about what happens to the “General" category. All political parties are playing their dirty politics with the future of this country.
We have had reservations in our system since years; I don’t know how much it has helped. Like any other noble idea, it has gone haywire. My own observation of so-called lower-caste people has been that sometimes I have found entire families of doctors and engineers; while sometimes there are families who have not been able to educate their children to primary school also. They have no idea, how to! It is quite obvious that the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer.
The idea behind reservation is to uplift the weaker sections of society. For that matter, I would not shy away from raising the issue of reservations for women. I don’t know there should be reservation for women or not. When I think about our local trains, and imagine life without Ladies’ compartment; I’m all for reservations for women in local trains. I cannot imagine travelling in the General compartment. The problem would be obvious if you have seen a local train; and you would empathise, if you have traveled in one. But when it comes to reservation in educational institutes, I don’t really think, it is required. I accept that women are physically less strong than men, but intellectually they are at par! But the point again comes to the fact that we have a history of years of oppression of women. So perhaps for sometime this reservation can help bring more & more girls to school, and ensure representation of women in every sphere of society--be it education, academics or politics. Now this problem leads to the problem of girl-education. Thus, the problem is so complicated and inter-related that it is very difficult to say that we do not want reservations at all!
Coming back to the current problem, we definitely do not want 50% of our seats reserved. Imagine fighting for only half the seats. Already, it is accepted that the entrance exam for IIM Ahmedabad is one of the toughest in the world. Imagine what would happen to the next generation. Would it be worth fighting for getting into IIMs & IITs of the country? Even now, people start questioning their own abilities when they fail to get through IIMs & IITs. As if not getting there makes you less intelligent and a lower grade individual. People have gone places and conquered world without those degrees. There is no doubt about the quality of people who make it to these premiere institutes, but we cannot question the intellect of thousands who don’t make it. The problem now moves to our education system and social orientations and acceptance. You can gauge the difference in the attitude of people when they discover that you are from IIM or some other MBA institute, similarly, IIT vis-a-vis regional colleges. In fact, even my orientation also is similar but of course, it is not logical! We have too many prejudices and limitations. The problem is also that most of our parents expect us to be doctors or engineers. There is no doubt that their intention is to see their children successful and secure in life, but sometimes they take it a little too far.
Moving back to the main issue of contention, I think in no time, most of the educated class who can send their children abroad, would start looking at it as a better option. When you start getting step-motherly treatment in your country, you need to look beyond it. And in no time, government would crib about brain drain.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Aggression
During my appraisal discussion, my Boss told me, that I should be more Aggressive.Even my immediate boss says I should be aggressive.Initially, as the easily-motivated sort I am, I thought, Yeah!they are right. I need to be more aggressive and dominating. They told me, Advertising is a field where if you are not aggressive, people will take you for granted and would not give you importance. But now, I think, should I be in a job which takes away the very essence of me! Is it worth it!I think I am sensitive, emotional and very unlike the hardcore go-getter. But that is my personality. And those qualities make me sensitive.Perhaps, I am at a wrong place or profession.
I always dream of being a writer. I have no idea, what would I write!In fact, in my whole life, mostly I have written poems. Out of which, most of the poems, I have written during school, which now seem too childish.I have written 2-3 poems in the last 2-3 years. Would that qualify me as a writer!Even if the answer is in affirmative, I would be tagged, very slow!Does not matter! Sometimes I think about leaving everything, and start writing. But I have not found my inspiration!
I always dream of being a writer. I have no idea, what would I write!In fact, in my whole life, mostly I have written poems. Out of which, most of the poems, I have written during school, which now seem too childish.I have written 2-3 poems in the last 2-3 years. Would that qualify me as a writer!Even if the answer is in affirmative, I would be tagged, very slow!Does not matter! Sometimes I think about leaving everything, and start writing. But I have not found my inspiration!
Monday, April 24, 2006
I should or should I?
Sometimes when I see poor people begging, I find myself in a dilemma. Whether to give them money or not! Everytime this happens to me. I feel sorry for them but never have I been able to come to a conclusion. In fact, it also happens when I see poor, old people working. So many times, it brings tears to my eyes but these are some of the things, I have not been able to make an opinion about. Why does a person beg? Either he does not want to do hard work or does not have an opportunity to do any work. Then what do you do. Give him few coins, and that's it! What difference would that make to his life. The poor, little kid, who keeps asking you for money because he has not eaten anything for days or all his siblings begging around......all of them.....what future do they have? Here I think about my future and my career; and how whatever I have is not enough. I think about what do I want to do in my life. I have choice. They have none. Even survival is a big question mark for them.
Then there is another thing--pity. I pity those people who have to do hard manual labour for living. I don't know whether I should pity them. Is hard work, worthy of sympathy or it is like any other work? What is wrong with hard work? Why my heart sinks when I see a labourer pushing a cart full of load? I don't know. I really have no answer!
Then there is another thing--pity. I pity those people who have to do hard manual labour for living. I don't know whether I should pity them. Is hard work, worthy of sympathy or it is like any other work? What is wrong with hard work? Why my heart sinks when I see a labourer pushing a cart full of load? I don't know. I really have no answer!
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Going back in time
Today I was going through my old posts. It was a great experience. Truly. It brought back all those memories back, the exhiliration of being placed in my dream company, the phase of aimlessness,the joys of reading, and lots more. I marvelled at my own written words! I wonder why have I not written any poem for so long! By the way, now my plan is to get into the arena of short stores. Let's see when and how I start.
Just now I was also thinking about my new hair cut. I am also planning for streaking my hair. Now how's that related? Well, new things! Perhaps that is what I need to do. Perhaps, after a point life gets monotonous and you just need to incorporate new things or changes to breathe a new lease of life into your daily life! If we go on doing the same things, we would get the same results. Heard that before?
Just now I was also thinking about my new hair cut. I am also planning for streaking my hair. Now how's that related? Well, new things! Perhaps that is what I need to do. Perhaps, after a point life gets monotonous and you just need to incorporate new things or changes to breathe a new lease of life into your daily life! If we go on doing the same things, we would get the same results. Heard that before?
Another day from the book of Life
All these months, while I was working and acting very busy, I have missed blogging terribly. I always think, life at Mumbai is too exhaustive. You don’t have time to think of anything else but work. And that can create emptiness inside you. My problem, perhaps is that I think too much about things which I should not, and too superficially about things, which I should. I like to believe that I love reading and writing. But I have no time! Or rather, I am lazy, too lazy to take time out from my “busy” days. But now I have decided (one of those resolutions!!!) to make the most of my time and days.
Today I saw “Water” by Deepa Mehta. I would say I am plain lucky to have been at the place where it was being screened. And somehow I decided to join the people watching it. I knew they were screening Water but I did not know it was that controversial movie. I liked the movie over all but critically speaking the actings of John Abraham and Lisa Ray left a little more room for improvement. But atleast here, John acts! I had found Lisa good in Kasoor, but of course Divya Dutta dubbed for her. I n Water, especially, when Lisa Ray comes to know about the name of John’s father. I thought, that particular moment demanded more to be spoken in terms of expressions and body language! Or, how should I put it, this scene needed a little more weight. Because it was a crucial moment in the story. Also, I did not particularly like the way John reacted when he came to know that Lisa had committed suicide. I thought it seemed that Lisa had just gone out of town rather than out of this world. But undoubtedly, Seema Biswas and the little girl were brilliant. All said and done, I think Deepa Mehta’s effort is laudable. And more than that she deserves a salute for her determination to make this movie. "Water" evoked in me a thirst to know more about the plight of those women in the past. I remember, I read in India today (or was it Outlook?) that in Vrindavan, there are still such ashrams where widows stay together. They pass their days raying and do not have any money on them for their sustenance. They are required to live a life of giving up everything in the name od widowhood. Today, in this world, this whole idea seems ludicrous, but in those days, this was the reality for any widow. I am glad I was not born yesterday....I mean in those days. May be I was, in some other body, in some other form!
Right now I am reading Collected stories Part-2 by Shashi Deshpande and May you be the mother of a Hundred Sons by Elisabeth Bumiller. After reading 4 books by Shashi Deshpande and hundreds by other authors, I have reached a conclusion today-- I love this author. Or rather I would say, I idolise her. If I ever became a writer, I would like to write like her. Her stories are actually not stories. Not in the typical way. It does not necessarily have a typical beginnng and the cliched ending, but it tells you a story. A very different kind of story. It would tell you about complexities of characters, of life being grey, of plethora of emotions, stories held in moments, hours or a few days. The books which I am going to read next are Ice-Candy-Man by Bapsi Sidhwa and Mediocre but Arrogant by Abhijit Bhaduri.
Today I saw “Water” by Deepa Mehta. I would say I am plain lucky to have been at the place where it was being screened. And somehow I decided to join the people watching it. I knew they were screening Water but I did not know it was that controversial movie. I liked the movie over all but critically speaking the actings of John Abraham and Lisa Ray left a little more room for improvement. But atleast here, John acts! I had found Lisa good in Kasoor, but of course Divya Dutta dubbed for her. I n Water, especially, when Lisa Ray comes to know about the name of John’s father. I thought, that particular moment demanded more to be spoken in terms of expressions and body language! Or, how should I put it, this scene needed a little more weight. Because it was a crucial moment in the story. Also, I did not particularly like the way John reacted when he came to know that Lisa had committed suicide. I thought it seemed that Lisa had just gone out of town rather than out of this world. But undoubtedly, Seema Biswas and the little girl were brilliant. All said and done, I think Deepa Mehta’s effort is laudable. And more than that she deserves a salute for her determination to make this movie. "Water" evoked in me a thirst to know more about the plight of those women in the past. I remember, I read in India today (or was it Outlook?) that in Vrindavan, there are still such ashrams where widows stay together. They pass their days raying and do not have any money on them for their sustenance. They are required to live a life of giving up everything in the name od widowhood. Today, in this world, this whole idea seems ludicrous, but in those days, this was the reality for any widow. I am glad I was not born yesterday....I mean in those days. May be I was, in some other body, in some other form!
Right now I am reading Collected stories Part-2 by Shashi Deshpande and May you be the mother of a Hundred Sons by Elisabeth Bumiller. After reading 4 books by Shashi Deshpande and hundreds by other authors, I have reached a conclusion today-- I love this author. Or rather I would say, I idolise her. If I ever became a writer, I would like to write like her. Her stories are actually not stories. Not in the typical way. It does not necessarily have a typical beginnng and the cliched ending, but it tells you a story. A very different kind of story. It would tell you about complexities of characters, of life being grey, of plethora of emotions, stories held in moments, hours or a few days. The books which I am going to read next are Ice-Candy-Man by Bapsi Sidhwa and Mediocre but Arrogant by Abhijit Bhaduri.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Nostalgia
I visited this blog of mine after so many days, and felt how could I possibly abandon it, I have shared so many of my thoughts here. I mean, we can grow up but we cannot detach ourselves from the memories of the past. Because as they say, most of my life is there! It was my first brush with blogging. I have started another blog but I think I would continue with this one also.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Work is worship
Today I realised how much I have missed Blogging, reading and doing the things I love doing. But to think of it, I enjoyed doing my work also, which kept me on my foot for one and a half months. It was really, really hectic. I literally was breathing work but it has helped me in learning what goes behind sending materials to Print media.
See I did not have enough time to think of a good Title for this post also. But anyways, life is in a fast lane. I still maintain that I hate Mumbai but I love my work and the work environment, and anyways, right now I do not have time to think also whether I love or hate Mumbai. Time kiske paas hai!!!
See I did not have enough time to think of a good Title for this post also. But anyways, life is in a fast lane. I still maintain that I hate Mumbai but I love my work and the work environment, and anyways, right now I do not have time to think also whether I love or hate Mumbai. Time kiske paas hai!!!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Back to where I belong-2
And why not when we are on the verge of getting sequels of every damn thing!
Anyways, I don't know how I managed to remain out of Blog world for so long because I really love it here!
It is just that on 1st June I joined my dream job. For two months, we had training; and after that when we were alloted our offices, the Mumbai disaster struck us--the Flood!But now, work has started. I'm learning. But to top it all--I M LOVING IT!Next weekend we have our First Alumni Meet. Add to that 15th Aug is on Monday, and frankly I'm not excited about Republic Day, but the Holiday as a result of it!!!
That reminds me, today I read in MID DAY, that Karishma Kapur's husband has stopped her from making a trip to US, and she was going there to be a part of Independence Day Celebrations??!!What about our own Independence Day?
Waise bhi, mainu ki?!
Anyways, I don't know how I managed to remain out of Blog world for so long because I really love it here!
It is just that on 1st June I joined my dream job. For two months, we had training; and after that when we were alloted our offices, the Mumbai disaster struck us--the Flood!But now, work has started. I'm learning. But to top it all--I M LOVING IT!Next weekend we have our First Alumni Meet. Add to that 15th Aug is on Monday, and frankly I'm not excited about Republic Day, but the Holiday as a result of it!!!
That reminds me, today I read in MID DAY, that Karishma Kapur's husband has stopped her from making a trip to US, and she was going there to be a part of Independence Day Celebrations??!!What about our own Independence Day?
Waise bhi, mainu ki?!
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Back to where I belong!
Somebody pointed out that my blog is increasingly becoming academic. So I take a break because academics anyways, is over!
Two days back, I saw Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi at INOX. Actually, it has been 2 years and I had never been to INOX, the Multiplex, in Pune. I am a regular at E-Square. And it is the best in all respect. At INOX as well as at ADLABS, you don't really know that you are in a multiplex, you enter by some gallery and leave by another. What about EXPERIENCE!!!
Anyways, coming back to the movie, considering the fact that I am not an intellectual, this movie was a bit over the head for me. But it is good. The award-winning type! Actually, it is the true off-beat cinema type! It does not tells you each and everything, assuming that you are intelligent. It showed the total collapse of all systems in the interiors of Bihar. It was really a hopeless and a doomed picture! All actors were good! I really liked the way movie has been given a background, and the missing links have been beaded together with the help of letters.
Also read this review.
Two days back, I saw Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi at INOX. Actually, it has been 2 years and I had never been to INOX, the Multiplex, in Pune. I am a regular at E-Square. And it is the best in all respect. At INOX as well as at ADLABS, you don't really know that you are in a multiplex, you enter by some gallery and leave by another. What about EXPERIENCE!!!
Anyways, coming back to the movie, considering the fact that I am not an intellectual, this movie was a bit over the head for me. But it is good. The award-winning type! Actually, it is the true off-beat cinema type! It does not tells you each and everything, assuming that you are intelligent. It showed the total collapse of all systems in the interiors of Bihar. It was really a hopeless and a doomed picture! All actors were good! I really liked the way movie has been given a background, and the missing links have been beaded together with the help of letters.
Also read this review.
Friday, April 22, 2005
To all my friends at IMDR!
I don't know how these two years
just slipped off my hands,
I am still awed!
But it was wonderful to live,
near perfect, almost unflawed!
Can I forget,
life's first late nights!
Can I forget
inconsequential fights!
Getting late for classes,
despair of poor marks
low pay packages,
Ghorpade's n Doc's idiosyncracies,
No match to
anything we expect!
Now seems trivial,
in retrospect!
But for our frontiers,
when we leave,
We'll meet at every crossroads,
I believe!
From heart to heart,
there is a bonding we share,
though miles apart.....
All of us belong here!
just slipped off my hands,
I am still awed!
But it was wonderful to live,
near perfect, almost unflawed!
Can I forget,
life's first late nights!
Can I forget
inconsequential fights!
Getting late for classes,
despair of poor marks
low pay packages,
Ghorpade's n Doc's idiosyncracies,
No match to
anything we expect!
Now seems trivial,
in retrospect!
But for our frontiers,
when we leave,
We'll meet at every crossroads,
I believe!
From heart to heart,
there is a bonding we share,
though miles apart.....
All of us belong here!
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Yet another Swades!
Swades has left an impression on me and I seriously feel that if our country can become a developed country, the development has to be at the most lower level—the villages! It was a shock when Mr Pravin Chordia said that about 60% of our land is increasingly becoming barren! And to come to think of it, as far as I could remember, I have always considered India synonymous with an agricultural country. But as he said that only Kerela has been able to sustain its agricultural productivity to some extent, Maharashtra has failed miserably.
The objective of going to Chinchni was to see for ourselves how a change in our habits and ways of doing things, can bring a lot of changes in the consequences. It was important to see it because it definitely makes a bigger impact than just listening to stories. We have already heard a lot of stories, its high time we checked some things ourselves.
The first thing strikes you before you reach the farm, is the stark contrast between the land which has organic farming done, and the rest of the land. There are patches of greenery, which makes everything obvious.
Mr Pravin Chordia, who initially worked on organic farming, incorporated the ideas of Shripal Achyut Dabholkar. Dabholkar gave birth to the idea of Prayog Parivar. As the name suggests, it is a community, which experiments and works on the idea that it is absolutely possible to live a good life at higher middle class income levels with just 1000 sq. metres of sunlight, 500 litres of waste water for a family of 5 per day. The idea is to enrich soil naturally as it has great potential and if it is done right, there is no reason why the results would not be favourable.
The idea here is to do a multi-level farming by incorporating as much varieties of plant species as possible. It helps to enrich the soil, as different kinds of plants give and take different kinds of nutrients. For example, the various levels could have as follows:
Level 1: Papaya, Teak
Level 2: Custard apple
Level 3: Bitter gourd
Level 4: Green vegetable plants
Level 5: Potatoes
This creates a bio-diversity, which makes a forest-like ecosystem, thus there is a symbiotic growth of all plants. You can find an odd sunflower, rose, teak, spinach, tomatoes, papaya, mangoes, curry leaves, henna, and just about anything. The more diverse, the better! It is also taken into account the things, which these plants would provide, for example,
For Bio Mass: Eucalyptus
For Cash crop: Teak, Sandalwood
For fruits: Min 1-2 of each species
For economic returns: mangoes
Thus by an intelligent mix of plants, all needs are taken care of. This experiment is not only self-sustaining but also makes decent profit making. But it is also important to take note that if one buys expensive land, then it would be very difficult to break even fast, thus the land should be bought at far off lands, for cheaper rates, otherwise all efforts would go in paying off debts.
Working in farms does not mean that one should live a life of deprivation, as this place also has satellite connection and even power is generated locally by water. About 70-80 people stay nearby to water the farm and take care of it. It s amazing to find out that handicapped people take care of this farm. It is also an effort to empower them, so that they do their bit of work and earn accordingly, not relying on government subsidies but dignity of labour.
To begin with, the soil is not necessarily fertile. It is made fertile by a process in which 9 alternating layers of ordinary soil and biomass are made. Then varieties of crops of diverse varieties are planted in this soil bed. After 21 days, one-third of the plants are cut and put into the soil. Again, after 21 days, another one-third is cut and put back to the soil; and then repeated for the last one-third of the plants after yet another 21 days. This makes the soil ready for farming. Then various levels are created by planting trees, and plants, which would form the various levels after they grow up. It is really amazing how everything works, but it is all a fact.
We also saw another of Mr Pravin’s farms, which has grown into a forest. In fact, 30 women from a village along with their women sarpanch, also came to visit his forest to know more about this kind of farming. Increasingly because of global warming and what we have done to our atmosphere, the rains are decreasing slowly; so slowly lands are becoming infertile because most of our land depend on rain for good crops. That reminds me of yet another startling fact about this farm that sometimes, it rains only in these farms and not in the surrounding areas! Actually, these methods gel well with the environment because it does not use chemicals in any form, whenever trees are cut; several are planted to replace it. Thus, when you do everything right, can you get wrong results?
Thus now increasingly people want to learn of such methods, which could make their lands fertile again, and bring prosperity to their villages. The use of chemicals over the years has made our lands sterile, which could be enriched again only through Organic Farming, there is no other way. Mr Pravin as well as all others who are involved with Organic Farming, are propagating this idea, so that if it takes up with even a small portion of our country, it would bring back great results; and then the idea would catch up with the rest of the population.
The objective of going to Chinchni was to see for ourselves how a change in our habits and ways of doing things, can bring a lot of changes in the consequences. It was important to see it because it definitely makes a bigger impact than just listening to stories. We have already heard a lot of stories, its high time we checked some things ourselves.
The first thing strikes you before you reach the farm, is the stark contrast between the land which has organic farming done, and the rest of the land. There are patches of greenery, which makes everything obvious.
Mr Pravin Chordia, who initially worked on organic farming, incorporated the ideas of Shripal Achyut Dabholkar. Dabholkar gave birth to the idea of Prayog Parivar. As the name suggests, it is a community, which experiments and works on the idea that it is absolutely possible to live a good life at higher middle class income levels with just 1000 sq. metres of sunlight, 500 litres of waste water for a family of 5 per day. The idea is to enrich soil naturally as it has great potential and if it is done right, there is no reason why the results would not be favourable.
The idea here is to do a multi-level farming by incorporating as much varieties of plant species as possible. It helps to enrich the soil, as different kinds of plants give and take different kinds of nutrients. For example, the various levels could have as follows:
Level 1: Papaya, Teak
Level 2: Custard apple
Level 3: Bitter gourd
Level 4: Green vegetable plants
Level 5: Potatoes
This creates a bio-diversity, which makes a forest-like ecosystem, thus there is a symbiotic growth of all plants. You can find an odd sunflower, rose, teak, spinach, tomatoes, papaya, mangoes, curry leaves, henna, and just about anything. The more diverse, the better! It is also taken into account the things, which these plants would provide, for example,
For Bio Mass: Eucalyptus
For Cash crop: Teak, Sandalwood
For fruits: Min 1-2 of each species
For economic returns: mangoes
Thus by an intelligent mix of plants, all needs are taken care of. This experiment is not only self-sustaining but also makes decent profit making. But it is also important to take note that if one buys expensive land, then it would be very difficult to break even fast, thus the land should be bought at far off lands, for cheaper rates, otherwise all efforts would go in paying off debts.
Working in farms does not mean that one should live a life of deprivation, as this place also has satellite connection and even power is generated locally by water. About 70-80 people stay nearby to water the farm and take care of it. It s amazing to find out that handicapped people take care of this farm. It is also an effort to empower them, so that they do their bit of work and earn accordingly, not relying on government subsidies but dignity of labour.
To begin with, the soil is not necessarily fertile. It is made fertile by a process in which 9 alternating layers of ordinary soil and biomass are made. Then varieties of crops of diverse varieties are planted in this soil bed. After 21 days, one-third of the plants are cut and put into the soil. Again, after 21 days, another one-third is cut and put back to the soil; and then repeated for the last one-third of the plants after yet another 21 days. This makes the soil ready for farming. Then various levels are created by planting trees, and plants, which would form the various levels after they grow up. It is really amazing how everything works, but it is all a fact.
We also saw another of Mr Pravin’s farms, which has grown into a forest. In fact, 30 women from a village along with their women sarpanch, also came to visit his forest to know more about this kind of farming. Increasingly because of global warming and what we have done to our atmosphere, the rains are decreasing slowly; so slowly lands are becoming infertile because most of our land depend on rain for good crops. That reminds me of yet another startling fact about this farm that sometimes, it rains only in these farms and not in the surrounding areas! Actually, these methods gel well with the environment because it does not use chemicals in any form, whenever trees are cut; several are planted to replace it. Thus, when you do everything right, can you get wrong results?
Thus now increasingly people want to learn of such methods, which could make their lands fertile again, and bring prosperity to their villages. The use of chemicals over the years has made our lands sterile, which could be enriched again only through Organic Farming, there is no other way. Mr Pravin as well as all others who are involved with Organic Farming, are propagating this idea, so that if it takes up with even a small portion of our country, it would bring back great results; and then the idea would catch up with the rest of the population.
Factory Visit
This season is full of trips and tours, but all fun-filled and great learning experiences.
This Friday (8th April) our Science, Technology and Ecology group went for a factory visit and a farm visit (dealt with later).
The factory we went to is owned by Pravin Masalewale, which owns a range of brands of spices--Ambari, Suhana and Sarvam.It is into a variety of products like turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, chatpata masala, Biryani masala, chaat masala, etc. We saw the processing of raw turmeric, chilli and coriander into powdered form, which are used at our homes.
Each spice is processed in a separate division and each has its own set of workers, dressed in the corresponding coloured uniforms, for example, Coriander ones wear green uniforms, Turmeric ones wear yellow and the Chilli ones wear Red. This is to avoid the confusion.
Turmeric: Raw Turmeric is fed into the machine, where it gets separated from any dusty particles and adulterants. Further there is also manual surveillance after the machine has done its job in the best possible way. This filtered Turmeric is then ground whenever required.
Coriander: Similarly raw coriander is fed into machines and there are several steps where the dusty particles, stones and adulterants are filtered by the machine. Mostly it is done by vibrating plates. Later on, here also there is a manual surveillance, while coriander is still in the machine. All these spices are used as single ingredient spice as well as in the various masala mixes like paav-bhaaji masala, sambhar masala, etc. For masala mix, Coriander is roasted in huge machines, which have an arrangement such that at the lower end there is a container filled with water. This container is heated at 230 degrees centigrade, and coriander is roasted in a container at the top of it, thus there is no direct contact with heat. The grinding is also done in several steps. As in case of coriander, it is first ground coarse and then finely.
Chilli: There are several varieties of chilli and it is determined by the oil content in them. Chilli also goes through a similar grinding procedure.
Quality Check: There is a Quality Check department where the oil content, moisture, flavour, ash content (adulterants), etc are tested. In fact, it is also tested here whether the raw materials are of standard quality or not. For this, any random sample is taken from the stock of raw materials.
Packaging: The smaller packs are done by machines, while the larger packs are done manually. It is amazing how little packs of 50 gms (which we saw) are made by the machine with absolute precision. The process is termed as Formed, Filled and Sealed. The printed flat plastic packets, roll through the machine, making a cylindrical shape along the way, where it is filled by the required spice and sealed after specific intervals. These intervals are determined by the quantities of packets to be made.
Canteen & Ambience: An absolute serenity pervades the place, as also because it is in the outskirts of the city. It made the memory of Factory visit of Marico come alive, which I had been to with my group members.
The factory has an open canteen, with natural breeze flowing. An ideal place to take time off from the work for people, working there. Even though so many people work in this factory and the fact that it is after all a factory, there is immense tranquility in the environment; and the factory has been aesthetically maintained!
In short, a great experience!
You can visit the company's website through here
This Friday (8th April) our Science, Technology and Ecology group went for a factory visit and a farm visit (dealt with later).
The factory we went to is owned by Pravin Masalewale, which owns a range of brands of spices--Ambari, Suhana and Sarvam.It is into a variety of products like turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, chatpata masala, Biryani masala, chaat masala, etc. We saw the processing of raw turmeric, chilli and coriander into powdered form, which are used at our homes.
Each spice is processed in a separate division and each has its own set of workers, dressed in the corresponding coloured uniforms, for example, Coriander ones wear green uniforms, Turmeric ones wear yellow and the Chilli ones wear Red. This is to avoid the confusion.
Turmeric: Raw Turmeric is fed into the machine, where it gets separated from any dusty particles and adulterants. Further there is also manual surveillance after the machine has done its job in the best possible way. This filtered Turmeric is then ground whenever required.
Coriander: Similarly raw coriander is fed into machines and there are several steps where the dusty particles, stones and adulterants are filtered by the machine. Mostly it is done by vibrating plates. Later on, here also there is a manual surveillance, while coriander is still in the machine. All these spices are used as single ingredient spice as well as in the various masala mixes like paav-bhaaji masala, sambhar masala, etc. For masala mix, Coriander is roasted in huge machines, which have an arrangement such that at the lower end there is a container filled with water. This container is heated at 230 degrees centigrade, and coriander is roasted in a container at the top of it, thus there is no direct contact with heat. The grinding is also done in several steps. As in case of coriander, it is first ground coarse and then finely.
Chilli: There are several varieties of chilli and it is determined by the oil content in them. Chilli also goes through a similar grinding procedure.
Quality Check: There is a Quality Check department where the oil content, moisture, flavour, ash content (adulterants), etc are tested. In fact, it is also tested here whether the raw materials are of standard quality or not. For this, any random sample is taken from the stock of raw materials.
Packaging: The smaller packs are done by machines, while the larger packs are done manually. It is amazing how little packs of 50 gms (which we saw) are made by the machine with absolute precision. The process is termed as Formed, Filled and Sealed. The printed flat plastic packets, roll through the machine, making a cylindrical shape along the way, where it is filled by the required spice and sealed after specific intervals. These intervals are determined by the quantities of packets to be made.
Canteen & Ambience: An absolute serenity pervades the place, as also because it is in the outskirts of the city. It made the memory of Factory visit of Marico come alive, which I had been to with my group members.
The factory has an open canteen, with natural breeze flowing. An ideal place to take time off from the work for people, working there. Even though so many people work in this factory and the fact that it is after all a factory, there is immense tranquility in the environment; and the factory has been aesthetically maintained!
In short, a great experience!
You can visit the company's website through here
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