Biting the Ballot

" The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among free men." ~ John Buchanan, 15th President of the US

Today, for the first time in my life perhaps, I got a taste what it feels like living in 'the largest democracy in the world'. And the experience was a mix of disillusion and wonderment. Kind of things you get to read about from the travelogues of foreigners who visit a city like Bombay and are amazed how the city that boasts of some of the most expensive real estate prices in the world also houses hundreds of thousands of people who live in abject poverty. The city that lives in swank apartments seems almost untouched and unperturbed by the city that shares the same aspirations but not the luck. Bombay was recently chosen by the Lonely Planet magazine as one of the five places in the world to 'lose yourself'. I hope this brings some tourist traffic to the city. Not many denizens would be too sure about the 'lose yourself' part. But nobody, absolutely nobody goes back untouched.

But as it is more often than not , that is not the point of the this post.

I went to a local school here to fill out an application form to get my 'VoterID' issued. In the context of 'the largest democracy in the world' it is that small card that carries your name, age, address, sex and photo that lets you in to guarded polling booths during election time, so you can exercise the most venerated adult franchise our Constitution has empowered the citizens of this country with. Your right to vote. To change the face of the country. To vote for prosperity, clean governance and efficient administration. To vote for development and social rights. To vote for a society based on principles of freedom, justice and above all the law. I was excited enough. 'I'll get those bloody blood-sucking politicians to bite dust when I press the button on the EVM, when I get my Voter ID', was what I was thinking about.

After a tiff with my mother, I stood in a line that had people from all strata of society eager to either have their Voter I-cards issued or update their and their family's status on the electoral rolls. At that moment, I remembered something I had read only in the papers and my Civics book in school. What a great leveller such a fundamental right can be. Suddenly everyone seemed equal. Well, more or less. There were some trying to get their toe in by sucking up to a constable present there. There in the heat of the afternoon sun, I was closer to the fabled 'real India' than ever before. And this place was just behind my house! The scene inside represented a typical government office. Too many 'officials', doing nothing much. Application forms just being thrown in the boxes after verifying details from another identification, usually a ration card. And the serpentine lines... When my turn came up, I was shoved aside by the person at the desk saying that I could not get the card issued unless my name figures on the voter's list of the Election Commission. And that is updated during the census, or that was what I was told. I was not too sure of that, though I could not have argued with him unless I was sure. I would be wasting his time and others' too. The 'dejected' look on my face inspired a jibe from the other fellow sitting next to him, "Ask him, is he ever going to vote?"

Standing there I did not know what to say. The cynicism though uncalled for and certainly not expected, seemed rational. I stoutly replied, "Yes!" But was it what I wanted to say? I am still figuring it out. As I walked back, towards the exit, I saw an old couple, a blind man and his frail wife, being helped by the staff present there to have their photographs clicked. They were helped even by the cops to get ahead in the line and also a guy present there helped the seemingly illiterate couple fill out the form. And the thing that made me smile was the sight of a laptop being used to click those photographs. A webcam took the photos and immediately added them to the database of election rolls present on the laptop thus updating them on the fly.

At that moment, the sight of that makeshift office made a poignant picture. I wish I had my digicam with me. I began to realise what they mean when they say '...the two Indias meet...', something I never really understood before. The technological revolution that has swept the country, the poverty that still swarms it, the bureaucracy that works at its leisure, the helplessness and the resolve of the people, I saw it all, and more.

As I came out of the centre, I began to think what could the Election Commission, arguably one of India's finest institutions, do to make the process better. It could be more integrated, for one. And dispensing adequate information in the form of posters and banners at the centres. And a full time guide to help out people, especially the illiterate, with their forms, to begin with. But these are just for starters. I can think of many more things, but I'll save those for another post.

As for me, I am just waiting for the 2011 census.

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Get Animated!

" Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create one if you don't have one." ~ Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles

If you have been reading the financial dailies then you will certainly not be oblivious to the rampaging growth of the new and sunrise industry in media services, animation outsourcing. Major Hollywood studios are outsourcing their work to Indian animation studios on account of the abundance of talent and the lower cost of production of movies and animated series here. And that is just half the story. Indian animated movies that were unheard of till half a decade ago are now released with the frequency of two or three a year and are giving sleepless nights to makers of major 'high on star power' Bollywood productions. After the roaring success of 'Hanuman', few people want to cross paths with the beloved deity when he returns to set the box office ablaze in (what else?) 'Hanuman Returns'. Frankly when I saw the promos of 'Hanuman', even I did not give the movie a chance when kids here(including me, when I was a kid, of course) grow up on the kind visual effects wizardry that Hollywood dishes out. But pleasantly enough, I was proved wrong. And how!

Even though things are looking up, we still have many things to look at before we embark on a journey to become an animation powerhouse. Earlier banks would not lend money to finance ventures in animation film-making as it was still uncharted territory, but now a few banks reserve funds exclusively to finance animated movies. Success of these efforts will surely push banks into financing more ventures. As far back as I can remember, it all started when Cartoon Network, as part of its effort to bring in Indianised content launched the show, 'The Adventures of Tenali Raman', produced by the Thiruvanathapuram-based Toonz Animation Studios and there was no looking back. But many of the salient factors that need to be addressed before the Indian animation industry unleashes itself on the global stage, are found in the FICCI report on 'Indian Animation: Coming of Age(2006)'.

The problem with the Indian content produced these days may not be with the animation itself. Most of the Indian content is designed for the Indian audience, which should not be the case. Indian studios should be looking at tapping the world market as animated movies as opposed to conventional Bollywood, is all about story-telling and creating magic on the screen. We need to produce content that has relevance for the global audience. This does not mean we must not try and sell our stories, fables and mythological tales that are rich in creativity, wisdom and above all values. But apart from that, we also need to produce movies that will break the stereotype about Indian movies that has been ingrained in the minds of western audiences. What we need is a major blockbuster that will rake in the moolah for the studios. With more money at their disposal, they can work on bigger productions with more spectacular animation effects. I would love to see a day when an Indian studio buys out Pixar! Since the global audience is used to high-quality visual effects and animation, we need to up our standards to meet the benchmarks in the world animation scene. This could be achieved by entering into a partnership with a major Hollywood studio to produce a big-budget movie.

While animation in India will surely go from strength to strength, what need to be seen is how we change ourselves and make our content sellable to the world. The day an Indian animation movie breaks box-office records across the globe is hopefully not too far.

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Hooked!

Never before did I feel left out this way, until today. 50 Cent, one of the biggest name in rap, has sent Bombay into a hustle today at the MMRDA grounds at the Bandra-Kurla Complex. And I could not be at the concert even though the tickets were quite affordable. The reasons? None of my friends here seem interested in music the way I am. And definitely not interested enough to shell out a 1000 bucks for a hip-hop concert. I did not tell my mother but I am sure she would not have bought into the idea of me being at a wild concert. Only tomorrow those of us that could not be there will learn, whether the rapper really did live up to his self-proclaimed status of 'the biggest rapper outside of Eminem'. And whether the concert managed to pull in the crowds that have been quite discerning when it comes to their music.

And that is the point of the post today.

In spite of 50 cent being a huge act, it is believed that the organisers were skeptical about the number of heads that will turn up to watch the hastily arranged show. And why not? Hip-hop is big worldwide but nobody is really sure how big it actually is here in India. We are just waking up to the new found fondness of these artistes to India. What is true across the board is that, in the days of mp3 downloads, record labels and the artistes have to rely heavily on touring. And that means having a whirlwind schedule across continents and fitting every city on the trajectory that might have people who hear and appreciate their music. This is the reason why India has seen a spurt in the number of artistes that have made a pits-stop in India. Akon, Roger Waters, Shakira, Beyonce Knowles, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, and now 50 Cent have all been here this year. And say they wanna come back again.

Interestingly, I googled and found out that Shillong, of all the places in India(with no disrespect to Meghalaya's picturesque capital) has hosted some memorable concerts by acts like Michael Learns to Rock and Firehouse! Wish I was there to experience it!

Today's Times did touch upon some of the problems like the low turn outs for certain acts but has left out some others. Ask any person who wants to have a good time at a rock concert, and he'll tell you that the crowds in India are not yet mature enough to handle the surge of a live rock performance. It will take many more concerts before we develop a culture of sorts that listens to, appreciates and patronises the kind of music these artistes make.

To pull in the crowds certain things have to be taken care of. First up, is reducing the entertainment tax. This will push down ticket prices. A state-of-the-art sound system is a must. We all know that Bryan Adams when he first hit India had his band make do with only one switch because the technology was nearly absent. Now it is nice to see things have improved a lot. As reported correctly in The Times, only AIR plays western music on its shows on its FM services in Bombay. I know of only one other station, FM Fever that plays English music, albeit being secondary fare. If more stations do get down to playing these artistes, it will help popularise their music and they also will be recognised here. What in my opinion, will go a long way in acquainting the generally indifferent to anything other than Bollywood music Bombay crowd, is a major award ceremony being hosted in here in Bombay. Do we have the facilities to host an event like the MTV Asia Music Awards? Not at present, but we have to work on getting there. It will be great to have so many talented international artistes converging in Bombay and captivating the whole city with their music. When will I see that day?

The grapevine has it that U2 will soon be performing in India. It has been a year since that has been going around... If it is indeed true, then I must say the saints are coming! I'd like to watch Def Leppard too, with Joe Elliot crooning 'Miss You in a Heartbeat'. Now wouldn't that be great?

Rock on!

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End Game

"Conflict builds character. Crisis defines it."

I spent the late afternoon today watching one of my favourite movies, 'A Few Good Men' starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore and Kevin Bacon. Though I have seen it a number of times, I still cannot get enough of it. Brilliant performances by the leading and supporting cast and the crisp script make it a must-watch.

Coming to the number of good men, there are hardly any when it comes to the murky world of Indian politics. But there is a general feeling that the incumbent Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, RR Patil is as clean as you would like them to be. I do not know and cannot tell how far that might be true, but there is a certain difference about that man.

Today in a small column, The Times carried a news-piece about the the state EC, Nand Lal putting the brakes on the Deputy CM's pet project, the Mahatma Gandhi Tanta Mukta Gaon Mohim which roughly translated means, Strife-free villages Campaign.

The campaign aims at ridding many of Maharashtra's villages from strifes that continue to plague them. More thrust will be laid on crime and land disputes. The plan envisages the formation of local committees that will deliberate on land disputes. These committees will work with the gram panchayats and try to resolve many disputes. The committee will include the local police and revenue department officials for resolving land disputes.

Many petty crimes can be settled by this committee. There have also been proposals to amend the law to empower these committees to take action against violators. Villages which declare themselves as strife-free will be getting cash rewards of Rs. 100,000. These funds can be used for the village community's development.

Also it is hoped that resolving land disputes at the local level itself will reduce the number of litigations in the courts and thus ease the pressure on the judicial machinery. This, in the long run, will be an important by-product of the campaign, if it is successful.

The idea is brilliant. This is just on the same lines as that of the highly successful Sant Gadgebaba Gram Swachhata Abhiyan, also the brainchild of Mr. Patil, that offered villages cash rewards (and even media coverage!) if they keep the whole village clean and sanitised. The campaign has been the precursor to the Centre's 'Nirmal Gaon Yojana' which is on the same lines. The campaign has been appreciated by international groups and is one of the shining example of how to bring people together on issues that matter to them.

And this is where the Strife-free villages campaign will meet its biggest challenge. Many of the land disputes are of personal nature and do not affect the community as a whole. It also involves land and property that might be worth a lot of money. How will the committee make the two parties come to an agreement and an amicable solution to the dispute is to be seen. For that we will definitely need a robust grievance redressal mechanism. Also many cases of land grabbing involve small farmers up against land sharks and big landlords. And the committee might have on board the very same officials who might have worked in collusion with those very same land sharks. How will a person get justice?

It is also a known fact that our villages are divided along caste lines. The committee should have an adequate representation of the deprived sections of the village community. But above all
there should be adequate dissemination of awareness about the rights of the villagers and their duties, of course. Everyone in the village should know basic legal procedures for buying, selling, transferring land, so that others do not take them for a ride. This can be done by holding seminar sessions and Q&A sessions with the villagers by the same committees.

If implemented well, the innovative campaign can have far reaching effects in the hinterland of the state. It could also serve as a model for development of villages across the country and even the world! Social development and economic development always go hand in hand. We have competent IAS officers in the state and an able Deputy CM. I am sure we will soon have Doordarshan's Sahyadri Vaahini covering conflict-free villages and villagers exhorting others like them to bury the hatchet when it comes to strifes and not throw in the towel when it comes to fighting for their rights.

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D-17 Never Again!

On the last day of my Actuarial Science exams, I was in a sombre mood. I really did not have the confidence that I'd clear the exam when I went into the examination hall, and sure enough, I am going to tank that paper, in spite of the paper being quite simple. After taking three exams in a span of one year, I can say I am just getting the hang of things.

In hindsight, I would say, I really don't deserve to pass CT-2, considering the way I studied it. I try and look at these exams a bit differently. After a good number of years of job experience, your job could be handling millions of investor money. And reading methods of capital appraisal while having your dinner with Chamillionaire with his 'Hip-Hop Police' playing in the background does not make you a good fund manager! Talk about late realisation! I had all the time in the world to study, but I did not put in the required effort and now I stare at another flunk against my name.

Only respite has been my mother's words; she said that you will not put in the effort unless you flunk a few times. I felt like a moron listening to her. Everyone takes a hit the first time. Or sometime or the other. If you want to be in it, you have to be in it totally.

What I have realised is: 1) I can really do this... A year before, I was lost! and 2) I can be as good at this as anyone!

But studying the 'study material' and attending to the half-yearly ritual of taking exams is not going to be enough. Hell no!

I have been reading The Economic Times since the past five years or so. Though in the very beginning, I could not understand anything beyond articles on government policies and Dilbert, these days I understand more about company finance, mergers & acquisitions and the stock market. Though I have not been reading it regularly, I plan to read it everyday after my final year BSc exams.

One more thing I want to do is, a small project on the stock market and/or a project on mutual funds. Just to help me understand more... The idea I have in mind is, to pick up a couple of stocks, maybe companies that are competitors in the same sector and have a hypothetical investment portfolio and follow those stocks and see how their prices are affected by the market, the economy and their own operations. If done well, it could be a very good learning experience.

What I want from the exercise is that, when I do enter the job market, I should know more than the others. My knowledge should run deeper and this will also help me pick up things faster.

As of now, I am totally into math, I face the final year BSc exams in four months. I know many things, but there are many things that I don't. The problem with me has been, when it comes to Actuarial Science as well as my college studies, that I do not study in an organised fashion. It is something I am trying to change, and I am working at it quite hard. I will change it, of course!

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Walking the Line

"Society has always seemed to demand a little more from human beings than it will get in practice." ~ George Orwell

The story that made headlines in today's Times was the inaction by the UP government to take serious action against a superintending engineer of UP Jal Nigam. This is ostensibly because it was recommended by Rahul Gandhi, a Congressman and political rival to the incumbent Mayawati Government. The people of Sultanpur district of the state had various complaints against the engineer about his shoddy and below satisfactory work in installing hand pumps for drawing water. It is shameful that the government has made this an image issue. The grapevine has it that the engineer was not given the marching orders because a political rival recommending an action against a government official did not go down well with the government. What was lost on the 'leaders' was that the substandard work affected people's access to the most basic of all living necessities, water. These are the kind of politicians we have in place to run our lives and the society we live in as if it is their own fiefdom. And it is not just a one-off incidence. It happens all over the country. The material used for civic infrastructure is often of a lower grade than the norms and the money funded is pocketed by contractors and suppliers and the conniving officials. One can see a lot of this in Bombay itself.

A city that is trying to be a 'world class city' and the 'financial centre of South Asia' has roads with potholes that can match the craters on the moon. Every year the roads are repaired and every year the potholes resurface. Contractors thus get to fill roads every year using nothing more than sand and tar, without even being accountable to the people who are going to use it. This forms a sort of a regular stream of income for them.

The solution? I have one...

Bombay has, in my opinion, one of the best public transport utility in the world in BEST. Other public transport are autorickshaws and cabs that use the roads. They have their own unions. Instead of having them serve no apparent purpose, other than and calling strikes holding the city for ransom, why not make them participants in the road infrastructure development? These associations can have their own cells that will monitor the roads for vehicular traffic. The bus drivers that ply on the roads can be asked to give their feedback on the conditions of the roads. Ditto for cabs and the ricks. The contractors should not be paid or paid only half if all the three cells do not issue a certification for the quality of the roads. Surely all the three associations cannot be bought together for bribes. And involve people that stay along the road in the process too, like having a website that monitors complaints and tracks the work on such civic infrastructure projects.

The idea can work only on paper. Many fine tunings are needed before it can be practically implemented. But I believe it can be done. I have always been a vociferous advocate of civil society participation in government programmes. It is only then when we can have a leaner and cleaner administration that walks the line.
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