SOUTH AFRICA - The Unbeatable Wild Life Experience

July 12, 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa : It was around 4 AM in the morning, pitch dark and 2 souls awake in the morning, one not so enthusiastic, till he was there – there at the Pilanesberg Wild Life Sanctuary, my maiden experience in the wild (in my whole senses, besides the ones when I was a small kid). We were on a South Africa business visit for the International Partners business of the bank post which I wanted a Saturday to be spent in the Wild of Africa, post much of Discovery Channel pumping in. With me was Gautam Sehgal who I convinced to join in with an add-on of the Sun City visit (where Ms. Worlds or Universe were held) in the evening ;)

The Pilanesberg National Park is situated in the Northwest province, about a 2 hour drive northwest of Johannesburg. The park ranks among the largest of the national parks in South Africa (it is in fact the fourth largest park), and covers an area of 55,000 hectares. It also has the bonus of being a non-malaria area and is home to the 'Big 5' – Lion, Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard.

A Dark green Pajero arrived at our hotel in the morning, with a 7 ft African (Vincent) greeting us enthusiastically at 4 in the morning with a warm namaste, courtesy his regular business with the bank and Indian officials visiting South Africa and courtesy my friend Afzal Azmi who had almost imbibed many DNAs of India in him !

We left and post 2 hours of lovely drive, experiencing the sun break in the midway reached the gates of the Pilanesberg Game Sanctuary. It was yet little dark and to our first surprise was the “Declaration Form” which made us sign on various terms, the most astonishing one “ I would be responsible for any accident or death caused due to any circumstances in the sanctuary and not the government or the sanctuary authorities. Like normal humans, since all were signing and as there was no scope of questioning at 6 in the morning, we too signed and moved ahead.

As we entered the scene around of the lovely jungle game me the dejavu of the discovery channels with light orange long grassland and a flat topography. And soon the 10-12 jeeps which entered together at the gate vanished into thi9n air.  The first animal which we saw, I still clearly remember was a Rhino along with a Baby Rhino, and that too while passing by, as in we did not put in any major efforts finding them as they were on their morning walks. The first sight of the large animal bigger than our Pajero was like still a dream. We waited there for the movement, though they did not much, we clicked a few pictures and moved ahead as Vincent said theres lot to se, as he has visited this place around 5 times.

The next 30 mins were boring, not being able to find any animal around, though a few birds which Vincent showed us but we were typical Indians and cared least for wasting time on the birds, wherein the britishers and Americans were shooting them as if they were more dearer than their spouses.

Soon, we entered into a different topography, a bit hilly at the end, but a greener grassland and we saw a scene which beats our first encounter – a herd of more than 100 Zebras ! The scene was fascinating…. The color scheme was breathtaking, any camera could not have captured. And as we moved closer, saw a few different type of animals camouflaged in the herd of zebras. They were neither horse, not goat, nor deer, but a mix of all called the wild beasts. This animal was fascinating as had never learned about it in school or as a child in a zoo or circus !  Well, this was just the beginning as per Vincent. He drove further and soon we neared a big lake and he stopped and asked us to stay silent. We did so ! But post 5 minutes asked him does he see something and he said he did, but now that something was not visible and soon in a while we saw a stone like structure move in the water and emerging on a bank near me and another smaller stone too flowing in. As it emerged, we knew we had encountered the Hippo and the Baby Hippo and Vincent felt or knew that and since these animals are extremely shy and sensitive, he had asked us to be absolutely silent and not murmur a word amongst us.

We moved further and saw many monkeys (Indians don’t care much as we keep seeing them so often, but there are 23 types of monkeys, 8 of them in this park) and also beautiful deers. Soon Vincent screeched and stopped on the way and showed us porcupines running into bushes, which we just managed to quickly take a note of. Hats off to Vincent for his sense of identifying or catching a life in the thick dense African forest. He says it’s the local tribal instinct and he is mostly right. We moved further and again halted as Vincent literally got out of the window to find us a huge herd of African Elephants ! They were far, but beautiful – thanks to my Sony 40X Digicam which could capture what the cameras could not and what a beauty – much different than the Indian elephants, these animals had huge ears and long white tusks and Vincy thanked, that they were not near !

Being so much impressed with Vincent and his instincts, and having seen these animals, we – the typical Indians asked for just one thing to Vincent – show us some Big ones ! Well, the park housed some lions and leopards but these animals were difficult to sight as the forest his huge and its purely on luck, where instincts also don’t work. But there are ways to arrive to this luck. Well, we were asked to hold our expectations low, so we don’t feel too bad if we don’t see one, but the overall package with so many animals was definitely much important. Vincent promised us more excitement and he only knew why and how.

We quickly had our breakfast (packed one at hotel) at a common point, where tourists were allowed to step down, refresh and answer the natures call. It was around 11 noon. And we spent 5 hrs in the wild.

                         

We moved further and Vincent drove us suddenly over some hill, don’t know how and where did it emerge from and asked us confidently to await some surprise and soon we were in a terrain with long trees all around on a plain bushy land and then came our surprise – the tall shining giraffes – not one but many. This topography with tall trees was the best for the giraffes and our man Afro knew it – I shall call it common sense now and no instinct. As we traveled we saw many giraffes and one thing was common none were single. Were always with one to three fellow companions and then were told that these are unconfident animals and like to stay in small groups, of like minded ones, though not in herds. And 3 of them together can make hell out of a lions life and Vincent has seen a lioness being kicked 10 ft in the air by one of the giraffe. The best part with Vincent was to learn the detailed nature and habits of each animal.

Well, now the desire was to see the King of the Jungle and it was getting dark and we desperate, but Vincy said not to worry as dawn and dusk are the best time to trace the Big 5s and imagine what we encountered a Lion and Lioness and Majestic was the only adjective which could describe the scene. What and experience at Pilanesberg – a dream come true  ! And at this place took birth of my Bug for the Wild and Nature and I said to myself – India has much and why haven’t I explored it ?

We moved to Sun City post the great day and returned back to our hotel rooms as satisfied as cracking a big deal… but as a greedy human, the real dream is still due- the Masai Mara – Kenya-Tanzania migration experience in Africa – Hope to realize this dream soon !

VINCENT, GAUTAM & MYSELF

TOURISM – The Indian way to look at it !

Most of the Indians go in for the following 5 types of Tourisms :

(1)   Hills – Plenty of them, not just Himalayas, but anything above 500 m above sea level and having a climate of 20 degrees as against the average 37 degrees is proudly considered a hill gateway ;)

(2)   Beaches- 70 % of India has a coastline giving some great beaches to visit and each state has some great and more importantly accessible beaches

(3)   Pilgrimage – Indians are usually the God-fearing or god-loving types and all religions be it Hindus, Jain, Muslim, South Indians, Sikhs will have multiple options for the same, and each state would have multiple places worshipped since ages and believed strongly in 

(4)   Leisure – this would cover luxury properties, spas, massages, shopping etc. That’s why some of the best properties do a great business !

(5)   Heritage tourism – would be like Rajasthan, Jaisalmer, Taj etc. where one would find good history, monuments and the buried stories of the past.

Most of the Indians spend across Category 1-4 and a very few towards  the 5^th one – Heritage tourism as the same requires a flare of history and above all patience, which Indians would normally lack.

Ideally a core requirement of a common Indian from anywhere in the country would be a good memorable place, good food and good spots to visit. Therefore crowded places like Simla, Darjeeling, Kulu, Lonavala, Khandala etc thrive in business despite the shitty offerings full of crowd much more than the local trains of Mumbai ! But, the numbers speak good – what can one do !

Offlate, you hear Indians splurging on Adventure sports like Bungee Jumping, Skydiving etc. Again a typlical Indian mentality of “why do I spend my own money to screw my happiness” overlaps the attitude to buy your thrill and the witness is the lack of such sports in India besides some River rafting sports in various parts of India. The world is moving a step further where tourists go for a “Horror Toursim” where you are taken to various locations and haunted properties like palaces, theatres, colleges, etc where you”may” encounter a spirit.

The Niche

But India, is still too behind in the evolving tourism options, but yes- there is always a niche for these tourisms. There are people like us who would want to go to a place less traveled and explore and enjoy the nature. Be it, exploring and  sitting on a silent lake at Jawahar, Maharashtra where no tourists would come  or find a natural waterfall in Panchgani valleys or taking a night walk at Periyar, Kerala or the not so common boat ride at the Rain Forests of Tama Negara in Malaysia where Anaconda was shot or explore the unexplored side of Goa where you may not find much Indians. Every place has such unexplored side of its and one common factor here is “NATURE” – Untouched and gifted !

Wild Life Tourism

One such niche tourism for the Nature lovers is WILDLIFE TOURISM. I come from a Gujju family and till date, 99% of our family tourisms in India or abroad were in the above 5 categories, till the last few years wherein our trips in the above 5 categories are just 20% and 80% into the NATURAL LOCATIONS, where the common man would not want to go. When I ask my mother or uncle to join in for a Wild life tourism, the reaction is “Sher dekhna hi hai to itni door jungle mein kyon jaaye, zoos are here” (If you want to see a Tiger, why take so much pain to go to a jungle, better visit a nearby zoo) and this will be the statement in most Indian families, the proof is 75% of the tourists for wild life are foreigners.

But, its not just seeing a tiger, the whole experience of exploring the jungle on your own, in an open gypsy early in the morning when its pitch dark and seeing the shades of the forest changing every minute as the sun rises and the efforts you put in to trace a tiger or a lion and the adrenalin kick you get when you after good efforts find a tiger with its cub or a herd of wild elephants or a rare leopard is more than winning a Million Dollars in the Vegas. And enjoying the wild in its natural habitat is a heavenly experience which many of my other holidays put together could have given me.

How it started

This started in 2007, when me and Gautam, my past colleague visited South Africa on a business trip. I used to surf through TV Channels and the shots on beautiful wildlife made me stick to the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet that I ended up spending hours on it. I had decided that post our business trip, we would want to visit a Wild Life Safari or a Game Sanctuary in South Africa as most of the wild shoots were from Africa. We decided to go to PILANESBERG SANTUARY in South Africa and my “Wild Life Bug” was born. Though as a Kid, I had visited Sunderbans and Kaziranga as a part of my 5 category Indian trip, the same was not that exciting as (a) I was a small kid and (b) It was not so important to visit these places and we just happened to have visited them.

But, post (1) PILANESBERG- South Africa, its 4 years now and I have visited 7 Wild Life Safaris / National Parks like (2) BANDAHVGARH (Madhya Pradesh) (3) KANHA (Madhya Pradesh) (4) MELGHAT TIGER RESERVE (Maharashtra) (5) TADOBA NATIONAL PARK (Maharashtra) (6)  HIMACHAL PRADESH      (7) PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE / THEKKADY (Kerala) and have committed myself to visit at least 1-2 a year !

India has a huge resource of Wild Life which attracts huge number of foreigners every year mostly between October to March and also from April to June (which is very hot- 47 degrees, but best time to site animals). It was in 2009, when a friend, philosopher and guide from the IFS (Indian Forest Services), the then CFC (Chief Forest Conservator) of Thane, Maharahstra, Shree Bhagwan guided me to Tadoba, where once he held forte, and I was able to sight the best wild life scene of my life, also covered by an interview by the Star News and Star Maaza, I thought that I should do my bit towards “Wild Life” !

Being from the Rajput clan of the Princely state of Wankaner in Gujarat and may be, as my Mom says there is some genes from the ancestors, that I have such a strong liking for wild life. The process remained same – exploring the jungle, tracing the wild, the only differences being they used guns and I use my camera. The big cats adored their palaces and walls and they adore my memories, they cherished and showcased their collections of stuffed tigers and other wild animals to the world, and I through this blog am trying to showcase the beauty of the Indian wildlife to the world.

The Wild India     -    www.wildIndia.blogspot.com

Welcome to the Wild India and through this medium, I would try to bring you close to each of the exciting wild life and nature experiences we have, right from explaining you how to go, where to live, what to do, some secret spots and ofcourse some exciting pictures. Hope you enjoy this and hope this blog would help promote wild life as a tourism adding on to the revenue of the country, giving employment to the local tribals and for the generation of tomorrow to conserve nature ! Do share your feedback.

An Open Letter to Vineet Jain, The Times Of India

November 11, 2010,

To,
Mr. Vineet Jain,
Managing Director,
The Times Of India,
Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
Mumbai

Congratulations Vineet Jain & The Times Of India for taking the lead...

….the lead in cleaning the corrupt India... Well, India is shining, but behind the glare are a huge number of corrupt individuals who are in a looting spree raping India day by day.... And you and The Times of India have in the recent past shown the courage to bring these demons in public which others have not been able to.

Being born and brought up in Bengal, have been fed by the rich media of The Telegraph and The Statesman, which let me be upfront, had and has much much higher quality of editorial and literature, may be the intellectual Bengal touch... But, even in the communist driven state they could not do what u guys have started....

My compliments once again for shifting your core from being just an “Aggregator of news” to becoming a “Social Change Agent”. I sincerely hope its not just momentary... this is what me or any common Indian has noticed in the past few years only... Be it the 26/11 or the CWG or the recent Adarsh Society Scam, you guys have done a good job and are responsible to get biggies like R.R. Patil, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Suresh Kalmadi and the latest one being CM Ashok Chavan get thrown out of their chairs, which the “Aam Aadmi” only wished, abused over a cutting-chai and forgot !

Some of your critics say that since you and TOI did not get the CWG Business contract, you screwed up the Common Wealth Games. It is not that it is for the first time in India, that some scam happened. But yes, it is definitely for the first time in India, that a Scam of a stature was brought out and people behind the same exposed, and the system pressurized to take a tough call. Some say that Vilasrao Deshmukh or Narayan Rane or the Opposition and others have used you to open up the Adarsh Society matter against Ashok Chavan... But for a commonner like me, it doesnt matter as far as the facts are coming on table and actions are being taken... Tomorrow, there will be another TOI to take care of Vilasrao and others... Some people say that you and your paper write only against a few segment or sect or lobbies of people, but for a commoner it does not matter, as the Awakening you have started, would create some other TOI to expose the segment you may be avoiding, if at all.


So in this Media Awakening, for whatever reasons be it, hope commoners like us are awakened and benefited in whatever ways. Thanks Vineet Jain and Team TOI for giving India the required literacy, being the medium of that lieracy. There are yet many areas that you - TOI initiated for eg. Avinash Bhonsle- Cidco and MKVDC Scam, the Lavasa scam, the Citiscape issues of Mumbai, which are as of now, hope not permanently lying low. Look forward to see them reach the right logical end, courtesy TOI !


Many literates and educated segment like us do mock down your “Aman ki Asha” or “Lead India” or “Teach India” as pure CSR activities which would bring in huge mass visibility and ofcourse the Ad revenues (Come on, lets not shy away from the core of the business we are talking about). I too personally feel the same at times, but well the above activity which you have not branded otherwise is the one which a commoner is appreciating and applauding and wish you the best and hope to see you playing this role of a “Change Agent” and not just a “Commercial Media” !


With Best Regards,
Jalpesh Mehta
Citizen of India
www.jalpeshmehta.blogspot.com

The Indo Foodiee - Exploring the Indian Food from the "Heritage" to the "Hole in the Wall" Eateries !

http://www.indofoodiee.blogspot.com/

Born and Broughtup in Calcutta means getting a tastebud extra than others... might seem an exaggeration or a bit blunt statement, and my Northie friends would lay their bets too, but a combination of a Gujarati and a Calcuttan can beat that too.... If I talk about Cal food, it can run into pages, hence saving it for future...

Well, Some eat to live and I live to eat and I dont have any hiccups in confessing that upfront. I have been exploring new places and cuisines to eat - not just in India, but in all my trips abroad also. But being a Veggie, India is a place, take any State of the country, which brings out a superb multidimensional culture and this culture is represented primarily by the people, their art and living and their Food... So, we all agree that Food is a strong representation of the Culture and one may not speak more on the diversified Indian Culture.

I never knew that in Maharashtra - one can have 4 different broad tastes of food - Paschim Maharashtra, Khandesh, Konkan, Vidharbha - they all have their different and unique tastes... Gujarat food is not always sweet - try out the Kaathiawaadi food and for a Urban Mumbaikar, Idli-Dosa means South Indian Food and vice versa... my Mom feels anything below Maharashtra till Kanyakumari is "Madrasi" and maybe in my Childhood I too though so.... but post traveling across the country have explored that Andhra Pradesh, kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka food are as different as Punjabi and Bengali food... so with this blog, would try and explore the Regional and Local Taste/Flavor of the Food and would recommend the place with my Ratings too.... 

I have been visiting the "Famous Joints" - right from the 5 Stars to the "Hole in the Wall Eatery" at any place I travel...any smallest town I go, I have also barged into a tribals house requesting him to make me some food and have also bribed people to make me the best dishes post their closing hours... so, here I go.... have inititiated a separate BLOG for the Food Reviews and Pictures - My blogs come with a lot of pictures, as Food is something you cant just read about - its not "the Touch and feel" but "Look and imagine" item ! Thanks to my Nokia E71 for all those beautiful pictures ! A separate blog, since I dont want to mix it with my core articles on (1) Management (2) Social and Political (3) Strategic Areas and they would still keep coming on www.jalpeshmehta.blogspot.com


This Food Blog is known as www.indofoodiee.blogspot.com - Indo Foodiee is a Foodie with and EXTRA E - which represents (EAT)... thats all bull...actually some one had already blocked the earlier one...and with this, I would atleast attempt at sharing 1 Review a Week.



I have already put in 10 reviews over the weekend covering food across Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, Kashmir, Kerala...but the USP of the site is Food in and around Mumbai - where most of us live.... there are seriously some great joints in Mumbai and all over and with this platform, I would sincerely try acknowledging the efforts and passion of the food makers - they truly deserve this.... and I truly believe that Good Food can be the most Satisfying element - sometimes more than Money too !!


Radhika (My brothers wife) keeps saying that I might give Mayur from HOMP- Highway on my Plate from NDTV Good Times a good run for his Money..... I sincerely respect the concept of HOMP, but Mayur - Dont Worry Buddy - this is just a Time-Pass for me !!


More on :  

Kathiawadi Food just 20 Kms from Mumbai

www.indofoodiee.blogspot.com  









 

 
   



 
    

South Indian Meal on a Banal leaf 20 mins from BKC




Typical North style Chole Bhature 5 mins from Andheri



 

Kashmiri Cuisine in Mumbai









Gujju's Sunday Breakfast - only a few good places



Spicy Satara (Maharashtrian) Meal

DABANGG – Positioning, Segmentation and Re-positioning

Some fundamentals first....all products have a certain lifecycle and the same can vary ie increase if re-positioned, re-packaged, else the same would die a natural death. Eg. Pantene, Lux, Pepsi and even Colgate are the brands which had to go through this phase for survival amidst stiff competition from new players in the segment. Even a giant like State Bank of India has to pass through this phase given the stiff competition from young banks like ICICI, HDFC, AXIS etc. You keep seeing Bank of Baroda, Union Bank etc changing their branding, positioning, logos etc. Al Ries and Jack Trout - the management gurus have shared some great cases on Positioning from the international perspective.

Some products do not require the same and are always a hit – eg. Maggi, Thumsup etc. The same yellow package and snacky branding for the former and the same simple black cola drink with a thumsup logo emphasizing on strongness or ‘’dum’’ positioning for the latter which still keeps the same alive and any tweak in the perception or positioning of the same could be fatal.

Now, taking this fundamental to our Bollywood – Not all actors are like Shahrukh Khan or Aamir Khan who could play a college kid as successfully at an age of 40 as successfully at an age of 20. Anil Kapoor still can play a young guy as compared to the old stooping Jackie Shroff. But all are not lucky enough like the Maggi or Thumsup to have a strong intrinsic brand value within. Many actors are smart or foresightful enough to understand their product life cycles and shif their positioning – like Akshay Kumar moving from action towards Comedy, where his peer Sunil Shetty still got tagged as an action hero and died his natural death. Diversification is not an answer, but complete shift in the positioning is. Look at Amitabh Bachchan. He too failed miserably trying to woo actresses post Agneepath in movies like Indrajeet, etc. He died almost a natural death till he repositioned himself as a different product like a senior police inspector in Khakhi or a senior role player in Black etc. And he changed his segmentation from the Big Screen to Television (KBC). Re-positioning and segmentation saved the Big B.

The Biggest example is Rajnikanth. He knew well in advance in his career (post Hum) that he does not want to die a natural death like his counterparts like Mithun, Govinda (He still lived longer, due to his niche), Jackie Shroff or Rishi Kapoor. He made his style a strength and his silly stunts of popping a cigarette, or his sunglasses or similar unhumanly possible stunts became his strengths and the brand relived post repositioning with super hits in the South and even International markets with movies like “Sivaji-the Boss” and now, the forthcoming “Robot’’.

Well, following the same principles of management, here comes Salman Khan with DABANGG ! (*) Sallu knows well that he is almost on the wrong side of the age so he cant do the college kids role.
Sallu knows that he is a little naughty one or not so serious one to get considered as a “cause-for-actor image” like Aamir, Ajay etc.
(*) He has his SWOT analysis in mind, knows his strength and what roles he can do well with.
He has experimented and tasted failures in his recent tries like Yuvraj, Veer, Hello, God Tussi Great Ho and many recent ones.
(*) He knows his competitors like Ranbir Kapoor, Imran Khan in the young genres and the inevitables like SRK, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn (btw, these also have shelf lives).
(*) And more important, he knows his segment – The rural India…sounds different ? But, that’s the fact. Not just youngistan and young girls crazy after his body and attitude are his audience. This will be proved with Dabangg with a release around the eid and the rural segment targeted.

Well, quickly on the movie DABANGG – well since theres not much to write – Dabangg is a good movie for Salman Fans and gives you a treat of a Rajnikant flick. First, the meaning of Dabangg - Dabangg means someone who’s power is dominated on everything. Most of the time, this term is used in UP, Bihar. Eg. “Raja Bhaiyya ek Dabang neta hain”. This way people in the area show respect for the person. Its like “Todu aadmi, Pahuncha hua khiladi or Stud-Champ” etc. Those who are Dabangg are never afraid of anything/anybody. They do whatever they want to do.

Keeping your brain aside, it is a generic time-pass with some Rajni & Matrix like fight stunts, a couple of good scores, some good dialogues and a fresh Sonakshi Sinha who seems promising (a good launch pad with Salman and with more efforts could be a good competition to the young genere' like Sonam Kapoor, Genelia DSouza etc). With almost no storyline at all and complete wastage of talents like Arbaaz Khan, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Anupam Kher, Mahesh Manjrekar and even Om Puri, Dabangg is a story of a corrupt cop Chulbul Pandey and his tiff with the local politician-gunda Chhedilal played well by Sonu Sood. Good and honest efforts by Salman Khan, Sonu Sood and a refreshing Sonakshi. For a change a Cop wins against the Politician in UP scenario (though must be close to Gangajals, Omakaras and Gulals of the world…but no closeby…actually a different product altogether with not much UPism in it)

The movie would do good given (1) the Segment (Rural markets; Tere Naam was a Super hit), (2) the timing (Eid, Ganeshotsav, Weekend) and (3) even in the Metros the game of first 3 days especially Holidays will help gain the scores for the movie with the first show at 10 in the morning houseful ! The attitude would be “3 days holiday – atleast lets go and watch the Salman flick !” Don’t go by any great ratings as Taran Adarsh and Masands of the worlds are all fixed. From a movie perspective (story, screenplay, direction etc) its 2/5 and from just entertainment perspective 3.5/5 !

Nothing to take away from the movie - a time pass Masala movie - equal to Singh is King, Hey Baby and much better than Khatta Meetha, Tashan…..Am sure this will be a better performer at the Box office than the recent flops of Salman like Yuvraj, Wanted, Veer, Hello, God Tussi Great Ho …. It’s a good decision Salman, to go on Ranji track and repositioning your brand and segment rather than choosing a dead end like Sunny Deols and Sunil Shettys of the world…and thanks for making me revisit the strategic fundamentals of Positioning, Segmentation and Re-positioning !

Kalmadi should be sacked and Indians should note 3 points !

As the CAG report emerges this evening, Suresh Kalmadi’s crime gets formally endorsed (Don’t understand why the F*#$ were we waiting for this, when every day we are seeing multiple proofs of frauds and scams worth Rs 2000 Crs in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) which are of huge budgets of Rs 11494 Crs (ref TOI headlines dtd. August 10, 2010) which is Public money – your and mine tax money (I just paid some more tax on July 30, 2010! And it pinches !)

TOI carried Headlines news in its Front pages for a week as below :

August 6, 2010 – Despite denials of shady Games contracts, heads begin to roll. Flower pots worth Rs 30 crs…
August 7, 2010 – OC had hand in all big deals
August 8, 2010- Kalmadi says – ready for judicial probe and would not quit as 40 days left for the game.
August 9, 2010- Kalmadi cleared payment for AM deal which he claimed he had never heard of. (Documents exposed)
August 10, 2010- Indian Medalists at CWG to get raw deal
August 11, 2010 – TOI forgot the issue in awe of the full page BigBazaar Ad;)
August 12, 2010- Key investors in top CWG supplier have fictitious village addresses. Got hockey turf contract at twice the market rate, lawn bowls at 8 times.

Despite all this, do not understand the heights of shamefulness of Kalmadi that he is still having balls to stand up and not resign and the as usual gayish stand of Manmohan Singh’s government to sit silent on this matter for so long ! This evening, post the CAG report, Arnab in Times Now was triggering the issue of Kalmadi to be sacked or stepping down..seconded by all the panelists from Sitaram Yechuri, Vinod Mehta, Kirti Azad etc. But, when I look at one resigning or being sacked, it gives me a feel of ridiculousness and mockery as the same joker lies underground for a while and springs back equally or more powerful…forgot Chhagan Bhujbal & the Telgi scam ? and today Bhujbal is the king once again, forgot RR Patil and his stupid comment on 26/11 ? and today he is back into the chair…its mockery and lets not discuss sacking or resigning for that matter ! There are many such examples….

I ridicule Subrata Roy Sahara (don’t say that he too has some hand or involvement, but he is not a patriot for sure to think about the country and advice the citizen and media to hold back the issue till the games are over.) I ridicule Sahara for even bothering to waste time convincing media and people.

Let us understand 3 things now :

Point 1 : PROTECT THE IMAGE OF INDIA : Whenever I have kept meeting investors abroad, they have been showing immense confidence in India, more than that of China or any other BRIC Country…primarily because of our demographics, DNAs and stable and better image of the government. Else India always had a reputation of being a corrupt country (Lets us accept the fact that we are…. I don’t want to go negative on the branding of the country as the readers of this blog belong to various countries and origins, but since majority of you are Indians, don’t mind sharing that its still easy in the country to do any level and intensity of crime and roam free and even win an election post that and rule the country too…..look at Satyam and Ramalingam Raju for an instance…

So coming back to the point, since only 40 days are left and the whole world is coming to India for CWG, it is important to sack Kalmadi and all relevant officials involved and revamp the whole board else the focus of Media would be more on the scam, scamsters rather than the game as each day a new skeleton would pop out of the box and the world would carry back the wrong image of India and because of handful of corrupts we all would suffer, right from entering another country to doing business with them, all would see us with a sight of suspicion. Media has done its job and no one (Subrata Roy or others) can stop them as they are bringing out facts, but dammage control is required with revamping the whole administration and the government giving confidence to us and the world that no one is indispensible and irreplacable and India has more qualified and experience people to run the show much well and much clean...net net, without Kalamadi and team... the show can go on..

Point 2 : ITS TIME WE WAKE UP AND LEARN TO REACT IN OUR OWN WAYS : India is one of the most literate country – I agree to it and the figures say so….but there is a difference between Literate and Literacy….We are literate but lack literacy….complicated ? Let me put a perspective….We are literate means educated and academically strong, but when it comes to literacy, we lack literacy ….literacy of what is happening around, what has happened and what are our duties….Indian memory is short and we believe in Chalta hai attitude…. We pay tax and we spend 5 minutes to crib about such issues, be it IPL corruption, Satyam Scam, or be it CWG….it is a gossip and time pass topic for us over a cutting chai and we immediately forget it…and when it comes to doing our duty, we fail…we never stand for injustice (I am generalising and not being specific that all do so), push back the corrupt officer for asking for bribe, rather we encourage as we are getting late to work and shelling out a hundred rupee note is simpler and the biggest point we crib about politicians….today we crib about Congress and tomorrow we may crib about the BJP….but most of us don’t even bother to go out and vote ….look at South Mumbai which contributes around 18% of the countries TAX, only 40% people bother to vote…rest take Holidays, enjoy movies and have Page 3 parties on an Election day which is just another Holiday ! This needs to change.

Point 3 : SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO FRONT : Last point…. When I had been to Pune in 2000-2002, Kalmadi was a huge name there…. As Huge as Shivaji Maharaj in Maharashtra ! But if you go to Pune today you will not even hear K of Kalmadi. Even the paan-waala knows that Kalmadi has shifted towards sports where he makes more Money. Same is the story of almost all the heads of such associations (rich associations which are better on a cost benefit analysis than a city or even a state) are people not belonging to that field. What does Sharad Pawar understand of cricket ? Does Kalmadi even know how many games are there in CWG? Even Lalit Modi would not know what is “Manka dead”, and we have such people heading these bodies…. Where would passion, feeling or push come of one would not even understand the game and well, if you say they are good administrators, please give me a break....our IAS/bureaucrats are much better to do that or even someone from a common walk like Nandan Nilekani, N.Narayan Moorthy, Deepak Parekh, KV Kamath with fair credentials could be identifed to take this responsibility, if we feel Gavaskar, PT Usha, Milkha Singhs of the world are just sports men and incompetent for this job !. Well, or it should be a mix body comprising of specialists, administrators and if required (you cant do without because of various reasons) politicians. But all these should not be politicized. I dont know how much of this could a common man like me or you contol, but am sure somewhere down the line, this would make an impact !

Coming back to Kalmadi….but India, we are loosing confidence !! For us Kasab and Kalmadi are similar, (besides their last names starting with K;)…there are for similarities (1) Both played with Country and countrymens trust and money (2) Both are standing untouched today and god knows till when ? But one things is proven now…unlike the perception, the enemy is not next to us or in our neighbours, it is right there in our house and we meet him every time we tolerate or encourage corruption and contribute in building another Kalmadi !

And sincerely hope, that the Media (compliments for the initiative) and citizen like us with our own capacities and ways are able to throw out this Kalmadi in the next 24 hours and other Kalmadis in our daily lives !

Bharat Bandh- Only a Performance Appraisal of the Opposition

Sipping my filter coffee, stretching my legs on my bean bag - at 10 AM on a Monday morning – sounds surprising ? Well, its July 5, 2010, a nationwide strike- Bharat Bandh called by the Opposition parties -13 parties like BJP, Shiv Sena, Left front etc to protest against the inflation, price hike, high commodity costs and fuel price hikes. Well, sitting at home - don’t want to risk going out and have a stone pelted at my car for being over-loyal to my work, especially when the office is almost empty.

Back to the topic, if u ask me, Bandh is not an answer to get the prices in control. But the estimation is that the government would budge off in pressure of the opposition, which is 100% unlikely and if that happens that will be a victory of the opposition. UPA Government may reduce some prices next week, as they have been doing pre-elections to fool the short visioned voters, the would not be deemed under the so called opposition pressure. Bandh, to me is a wastage of productivity and loss of precious manhours but well, if my tax money is going to give me what the UPA government is giving, why not sit, relax and enjoy a holiday instead !

Having been born and broughtup on Bengal, I could claim myself as one of the most experienced writer on Bandh’s. In Calcutta, almost 1 to 2 days of a month even today are passed off as a holiday due to some strike or the other… those also went upto 10-11 days in a month with slogans of Inqellab Zindabad echoing in the streets, Chakka Jam (Flattened tyres / held tyres) of Buses and Trains and also seeing burning buses and private vehicles was a common sight there. When I see Bandh’s in Mumbai, they seem so docile and low lying comparatively. Well, one should not be inspirational on this front atleast.

Well, back to the Bharat Bandh – from being a unconstitutional means of demonstrating against a cause this is more of a Performance appraisal of the opposition political parties. To give you a background, all parties have National Heads, State Heads, City Heads, Area Heads, Ward Heads and so on…Well, the State Heads of Opposition parties are under the performance pressure to do well and their fate, future role depends on today. Today evening will decide, how long will Nitin Gadkari stay as a BJP President - for 1 year of 4 more years. Today evening will decide who is stronger Shiv Sena or MNS and where the Marathi vote should go.

Now, a better example in a laymans terms. Mr. A is the head of X Opposition party in North Mumbai (Goregaon, Malad, Borivli, Virar, etc) and Mr. B is the head of Central-Thane region of the same party. Mr. A and his team in North Mumbai by the day end have ensured that (1) All shops are closed (2) There are no auto rickshaws and taxis on the floor (3) There are 5 trains stopped (4) There are 10 dharnas (Protest sit outs) outside the government offices. Mr. B ensured 1,2,3,4 and (5) also his men are seen in Media channels slapping some train commuters (You can see even on TV one clipping this morning) (6) There is a lathicharge on the activists and (7) 2 of their senior leaders have been arrested in full glare of media. Take a guess, will Mr. A be rated higher or B ? Ofcourse, undoubtedly, Mr. B and he is sure shot the party’s favorite candidate for being nominated as the Party chief for Mumbai or getting an MP ticket. Well, this is nothing but a Performance appraisal, PMS or Rating as you would call in your HR parlances.

To add on, Media plays a critical role. If a certain party has a good networking, they would carry along most of the channel guys for their event or action plan (for eg. Rail roko- stop the train, Fire the Bus etc). What do you think, is media so smart that they will be covering the whole city and would genuinely come across all of these ? Well, so the winner today is the one who is able to showcase more of his/her performance on the TV and Print media. And that’s the “Visibility or Perception” factor which you may find in the organizations where along with performance the same is required to excel. Here, the raters are not just the party bosses but also the junta !

Though none of us bother much, we may criticize or even call them fools, but sorry we are not their audiences, we are the 60% who wishes to be absent of go on a vacation while going to vote – so they care a shit about your and my views ! Their TGA (Target Audience) is the rest 40% - Lower and Lower middle class who would by being impressed or afraid come to vote for. They would also themselves with family step put with the parties. (some may claim they are the worst hit, but who is not?) And that’s the politics of India.

Well, its just 11:30AM and here is the interim report card (guess what will be the status by the evening)
Bandh is so called very successful ! Successful on all the performance appraisal and rating parameters like – Most Flights cancelled, Airport stranded. Public transport and private vehicles almost out of roads, shops shut across all states. Thousands activists /protestors arrested. Schools, colleges, markets shut. Offices Empty !!

• Kolkata and Bengal shut as usual.(Left ruled)
• Kerala, AP also shut as the opposition strongest (Left and TDP)
• Delhi – the centre so full focus of the opposition.
• UP – Lucknow - Lathicharged and Power hoses (water charge)
• Bihar- Patna badly effected.
• Mumbai – Major protests, roads empty, no taxis, autos, trains blocked, buses stoned and broken in Worli and Vakola, Private Cars of oversmart people pelted and hit.
• Pune- 26 buses broken. Shiv Sena, BJP leading the fray across Mumbai and Maharashtra
• Leaders of Opposition- the big names like Kirit Somaiyya, Sardar Tara Singh, Vinod Tawde (BJP) Abu Azmi (SP), Chandra Babu Naidu (TDP, Hyderabad) (they have become heros and will be released at night- cool, that’s the Law and Order in India )

India is a country with a thin margin between the Government and the Opposition (all put together) and hence the bandh has to be successful and for the opposition , this is possibly the last few chances for their power show (shakti pradarshan) The bandh so far is super successful but is this the answer to reduce the price hikes ? I leave it upon you to answer (if you are a voter, then you have right to question this, else not)

Today, the total Opposition – the rightist, the leftists, are together for the bandh- the question is where were they, when the same could have been taken up in the Lok Sabha by a motion bill by the representatives of the citizen. But, the question is would they have got this visibility ? And if by any chance, the government reduces any prices post the Bandh (if Murli Deora and colleagues have been delivered their respective suitcases) – that will be the icing on their cakes.

Well, let me leave it upon the representatives you and I have chosen, if in case you have also chosen one…. I have plans for some cool beer, a sumptuous lunch, an afternoon nap, and evening movie or some teen-patti / poker at friends’ on a Monday !!! (unlike Calcutta, cant play cricket on the highway)


Picture Courtesy - bengalnews.blospot.com and Suresh