India

Livin’ on the Edge!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

This post is in fond remembrance of the roller coaster. Not that amusement parks have gone anywhere but it’s been ages since I visited one, so apt for me to pay my respects.

And not just because I want to go to such a place. Of course, who wouldn’t want to forget all worries and be childlike for those brief moments when you experience bliss (unless you’re freaking out about the possibility of a loose screw somewhere!).

It’s also because thanks to a few planned and unplanned trips, this past month made me remember the good old roller coaster again!

You see, when you travel on roads in India, that’s the feeling you live with all the time. Who said we don’t know how to have a good time. We do it every day of our lives.

As has often been written and mentioned, driving on Indian roads is an art. It’s one that all of us learn pretty much as we grow up and only hone as we get older.

It’s like an enthralling, never ending ride. You keep swerving and swooshing all around. Sometimes out of choice. Sometimes out of compulsion to avoid hitting someone. And sometimes just so that you remain alert while driving!

So, as it happened during my trips, I was mindlessly observing how most people drive. Sitting on the other side of the driver gave me all the time in the world to indulge in this guilty pleasure. And then I observed some more as I drove around town recently.

Well, most of us Indians drive crazily. Period. We don’t know what is a straight line, what is a lane, what are signals for, what is meant by road signs, why there needs to be space between two vehicles, why we need to drive on one side of the road if it doesn’t have a divider in between to separate up and down traffic. The list is endless.

But this is still ok. Our best behaviour is around a signal. When we all are supposed to come to standstill. It’s almost as revealing as attempting a psychometric test. Let me try to explain.

As soon as we near a signal, if it’s a green light, we want to cross over come what may. Even if that means running over someone. Or jumping the signal just as it’s changing colours. We pride ourselves on the ability to beat the timing. After all it’s all about living on the edge…

Even better is when the signal turns red. The vehicles come to a screeching halt. And then everyone starts swerving here and there. As if standing at one place is a crime. The bikes navigate every possible angle to squeeze into any open spaces. It’s like water taking the shape of the maze and filling up all the vacant areas. We don’t leave even an inch. Because of course why waste space! And don’t you forget, the marginal gain is much higher than the few seconds we would lose being two steps behind.

As the signal turns green and we start again, we start to play hide and seek. Swerving and changing lanes at will without any indications, driving as close to each other as possible with absolutely no margin for errors (we are born Schumachers!), honking mindlessly, swearing unconsciously. Mimicking a hungry snake trying to make its way through the ground, wanting to catch its prey at any cost.

Until we reach our destination, we keep up this behaviour. Because no one likes changes, you see. And then as we park and get out, we mention to ourselves “Indian traffic is getting worse by the day”…

For us, it was a hectic but satisfying ride. After all, we beat 3 autos and 5 cars to our destination. To an uninitiated onlooker, it might have been the best example of living on the edge. And how not to drive…

Ah! Those Mountains…

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

There I was, in the middle of the night on my 19th b’day, digging trenches and keeping a vigil. And under the night sky, trying to figure out some nuances of mountain warfare.

It was a mandatory camp at the Academy, for all of us cadets to better understand the various nuances and art of fighting and defending on mountains.

Just in the evening, I had been given charge of the entire company. The instructor had given our company the responsibility to defend the mountain against attacking company. And the first task at hand as night set in, was to dig trenches and set up base.

We divided ourselves into smaller teams and identified the positions we will dig the trenches in, ensuring all the sides are covered. We also plotted our strategy and post dinner, got down to the actual digging.

It took us longer than we thought it would. The teams kept at it and I was myself caught in between coordinating the effort and digging my own trench. It was exhausting but exhilarating, with a tension in the air about how and when will we be attacked.

We just about managed to complete the digging in time. As I took the last rounds and told everyone to settle in while keeping a watch from their respective abodes for the night, we sensed something was about to happen.

Within a minute or so, our forward patrol group sounded an alarm. The attack came in a flash, with the charging party romping in from the far side to our surprise. We defended to the best of our abilities. And as happens in most exercises, we won some and lost some.

As the debriefing was happening in the early morning hours, I was caught napping. The instructor asked me to get up and do a round of pushups (standard punishment in the Academy), which was cut short only because someone blurted out that it was my birthday.

I still distinctly remember the night and what happened in those hours. Perhaps also because I kept getting teased later on by my course mates that I was punished on my b’day.

As news poured in this past week of the skirmish in the northern border and the ensuing fight that claimed some precious lives of our men, I was reminded of that night. Although it was just a training and a mock drill, mountain warfare camp was one of the toughest.

I for one know what hardships our soldiers go through in some of the roughest terrains high up in the altitude. And yet, each time something like this happens, it is a great testament that on every occasion, we are able to excel and keep our flag flying high.

Here’s to the Indian Armed Forces and their indomitable spirit!

Personal Satisfaction, guaranteed – Part 3

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

And then there were many!!!

In the last 2 posts, I have talked about my perspective of nation building from the eyes of the Armed Forces and the government setup. We all in some form or another recognise their contribution to keep the wheels of the nation chugging along.

But what has happened over the last couple of months is something I never imagined would have come to the fore.

As the ongoing lockdown has continued unabated for the last 5-6 weeks, we have had stories of multiple frontline health workers going out of their way to keep us all safe putting themselves in peril. We have read about policemen going beyond their call of duty to serve the nation in enforcing the lockdown. And of scores of NGO’s and individuals serving the poor and the needy.

Some of these stories have helped us all appreciate what people in the public life go through. The silent workers behind the veil of obscurity who get recognised as social servants. Who are considered as the average joe because they get paid less than the ones who joined the high flying corporate world.

And yet they continue to serve the nation and go on with their jobs. Because it yields personal satisfaction. And pride.

We however, on the other side of the road don’t recognise it much. As someone who has been on that side of the road, it is painful to see how less we care about our men and women in the Armed Forces or serving in the Govt. Or how much we respect what they do.

It is only when situations are tense or there’s some mishap or a black swan event like this current crisis, is when we take note of the great sacrifice that these people have to make. We talk about it but after a few days we forget.

If there’s one thing that I wish we carry with us after this crisis is past the post, is the immense burden these blessed souls carry on their shoulders and the great work they do to keep us all functioning and alive. Hope we all remember it deep in our hearts the next time our path crosses theirs.

And more importantly, now that the lockdown is being lifted in phases and we are going to go back to our lives as usual, hope we respect the hard work and sacrifice that has been put in on the ground across the nation and take care of ourselves and our society as per laid down norms and practices during these difficult times. We owe them a successful result after the last 5-6 weeks of hardships and toil…

Personal satisfaction, guaranteed – Part 2

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

I am still a fauji in some senses (you can take the man out of the army but not the army out of the man, someone said to me).

In most people’s minds, the army and the civil services are right at the top of the social hierarchy when it comes to professions directly affecting the nation. So when I came out from the Army, it was but natural for people back home to suggest the civil services as the next career choice.

No one from my father’s or our generation had been into civil services, although there was a lineage earlier during my forefathers. And there was hence some expectation. But I wasn’t convinced about that route and didn’t take it up.

Instead, I chose to gain different experiences. As I progressed through my career and went through my journey in the corporate world and then as an entrepreneur, I learnt a lot and gained some worthwhile experience in diverse fields.

Yet, at the back of my mind there was always this recognition of the great work India has been doing as a nation and how multiple people have been contributing to nation building across the government landscape.

Hence, when I got the choice to work with my current organisation and in the process work with the government sector, it was an opportunity for me to learn about the other side of the national service coin. Advising them on important initiatives and programs would mean contributing in my own little way to the nation again.

Surely enough, this stint has thrown a lot of light on how even despite huge challenges and limited resources, India is progressing well due to the ingenuity of our people. And how our vast and diverse country is being managed.

As an ex-fauji, it is surprising that although the civilian life demands much less, the passion, enthusiasm, and rigour that some of the people serving in the government have is amazing. There’s pride. There’s a strong sense of duty. And there are sacrifices of all kinds.

Talking to some of these officials has revealed how they have been in their own way helping the nation move forward inch by inch. And observing the work done by some of the junior staff gives hope that in spite of the odds, we are on the right track.

And while I am an outsider in the system, I would still go ahead and say that it is important that more and more capable people get in and serve the government through civil services or other entries or get associated with the government to bring the best to the society. Will help us achieve our destiny as a nation – something I am sure all of us would want to!

Reverse drain in vogue!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

Along with conversations about business, another thing in fashion right now is scores of people from abroad returning to India. What’s fuelling these patterns? While on my way to recruit people for my new venture, I thought through these points. You see, wife away for a few days to in-laws’ does help business and thinking both 🙂 So, I looked at some of the history of modern India. Even under the British rule, most affluent Indians preferred traveling abroad for education and eventually ended up working there in most cases. So, Indians have been on the receiving end of brain drain for a century almost! However, after independence, and specially during the license-raj years, this phenomenon accelerated. People felt so shackled by the system and lack of opportunities that they preferred to fly abroad. Grass was indeed greener on the other side, dollars glimmering across the Pacific… Some people did come back post the reforms in early 90’s but they were far and few in between the many who flew in the flooding river of IT upsurge. Many of those who went are now firmly entrenched in the societies everywhere. And they made Indian curry and Indian software professionals ubiquitous in most places abroad! This trend seems to be reversing in the past year or so it seems. If we are to believe news stories, hundreds are wounding up ashore in search of moksha in the hyper growth opportunities that India now presents to the world. And its getting better day by day with the new dispensation promising truckloads of reforms… I guess that this combination of unparalleled opportunities present in the huge nascent market of India and the sea-change in expectations with the new government in the center is what is our best bet if we are to grow to levels we aspire to. India’s potential as a consumer market was never in doubt with its huge population. With new technologies and penetration of mobile phones, it’s become a reality. Companies and entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this to reach out and create new value for consumers across industries. Aiding this upswing is the new government, which is promising reforms and simpler laws to do business. The prime minister’s topmost stated agenda is improving India’s ranking in the ease-of-doing-business index. And the improving mood has bought back those NRI’s from everywhere to invest and do business in India… What remains to be seen is how this upswing is sustained and promises are fulfilled. India is at the cusp of changing forever if things go well. But if they don’t, I believe we might witness never before seen brain drain. Because this perhaps is our last chance of reclaiming long lost glory and become the golden bird again. Here’s to the eternal hope of seeing a better and more prosperous future for our country!

Unifying India

~ Rishi ~ 1 Comment

The other day I was sitting with one of my friends and we were just talking about random stuff when I was drawn to a rather normal detail – he is a Bengali, his wife is a Sindhi. It’s nothing out of the blue, I mean people are getting married as per their choice all over the place. But something in this detail stuck to me!

Well, to put things straight, even I have had a love marriage (a rather long labour of love for 5 years before we tied the knot :)). I am a Brahmin from MP and my wife a Marwari from Jharkhand. And we have instances in our family of inter-religion marriages as well, so it’s nothing awkward for me that two people of different castes/religions get married. What really stuck me was the amalgamation of cultures that’s happening across the board within our generation.

In older times, when arranged marriages used to be the norm, most of the alliances were in same religion/caste and to a great extent, even region. It was likeness that paved the way for a successful marriage! Remember, old aunties saying “she is of the same caste, will be able to adjust easily”…

But come our generation, the concept of arranged marriages has been overtaken by people marrying each other based on their choices. And that’s quite a profound thing that’s happening right now in India. As more and more of us get married into different castes/religions/cultures, I believe we are becoming more tolerant of the way others in the society live. And that’s great because it, in my opinion, is bringing the people of India closer.

Imagine, after a few years when Muslims will be marrying Hindus openly without any drama, Sikhs will be getting hitched to Christians and Rajputs to South Indian Brahmins, and so on. The simple idea of marrying based on your choice will create a strong harmony amongst religions, societies and castes that years of efforts couldn’t do! It’s already started, and it’s only going to become better with age! 🙂

Hopefully then films like 2 States would no longer be novelty amongst most people in the hinterland, it will be a commonplace occurrence surrounding one of the most beautiful institutions that India has taught the world how to be successful in. And it will be an India not only tolerant of its diversities but proud of the vastness of its amalgamated culture!!!