It happens only in India

In our institute, there is a Humanities student who is doing research on how behavioral traits affect the retention and reproduction capabilities of memory. For this, she had to conduct a survey of more than 200 people to gather enough data.

The best way to gather people in IIT is to send out earnest e-mails to seemingly interested parties. With the existence of mailing lists, it is even more easier to do that. So, on her request, I sent out an e-mail to all the PhD students in IIT and also sent a separate mail to the students of Chemical Department. And lo! More than forty people responded to the e-mail and participated in the survey. Just on the basis on an e-mail. People who didn't know me or the student or haven't met either of us, went to participate just because they were either curious or genuinely interested in helping the student.

But, this very attribute, the student says, is a problem when she would be collating her results and publishing them. She says that foreign reviewers fail to understand how is it possible for people to participate in a survey, if there were no incentives offered to the participants. They are just not able to digest the fact that people came to the survey only because they were curious about the content or they actually wanted to help her with her research work. And that is because, in foreign universities, especially the ones in US, Canada and Europe, it is common to give incentives to people to participate in surveys. Their claim is that people respond only to incentives and therefore it is hard to believe that more than two hundred people participate just on the basis of an earnest appeal.

I guess, this is what is Indian culture. Helping out even without thinking of the incentives. All participants were helping the student with her research work when they participated in the survey. And they have done it without considering the benefit involved as it wasn't anything like an IQ test, where the results can be used for bragging about self. And perhaps that is why we saw no riots during the July 2005 floods in Mumbai. It was the opposite. Residents in low-lying areas helped everybody stuck in the floods. There were people stranded on roof-tops of BEST buses, who needed to be evacuated. Before the government could swing into full action, it was the work of these individual citizens that saved so many lives. This is in complete contrast to the aftermath of the Katrina hurricane, which saw so many food related riots in Louisiana.

As the Shilpa Shetty-Govinda song goes- "It happens only in India!!"

The curious case of convenience charges

The inspiration for this article lies in Gul Panag's tweet. We have all been paying that 2% extra when we make payments by credit card at some retail outlets. The IRCTC also charges between Rs. 10-40 as internet booking charges. And multiplexes too having been charging anywhere from Rs.40 onwards as "convenience charges" for internet booking.

Everybody asks the same question- "Why should we pay these charges, over and above the prices?" And people are right. The primary idea of introducing technology is to improve convenience and bring down costs for both the service provider as well as its user. In case of the Railways, internet booking has brought in more transparency with respect to reservations of the tickets. All it required was setting up of the software and secure payment gateways to put the system up in place. May be a few extra servers to handle the extra users who might log into the system. But for the Railways, this is not a very big investment. They already had a reservation software in place, for their use and servers to handle reservation systems. It has helped them reduce dependence on man power, who are unionised and definitely cost more than a set of servers and fiber optical cables and bandwidth. But still they charge that service charge and also 1.8% of the total fare, if you pay by credit card. This is disadvantageous to those who use technology that actually reduces burden on the counter staff.

For multiplexes too, the case is even more curious. They have an interactive website already in place, to display the movie show timings in their screens all across India. They too, needed to just setup the software to book the tickets and secure payment gateways. Booking through the internet gives them a guaranteed customer, compared to those coming on the spot. And it does reduce a lot of man-power time. But then why do they charge those "convenience charges". For whose convenience are they charging us? Their convenience or the viewers?

There might be issues like payments to bank gateways, credit card companies, etc. But then, airline companies too have the same issues. They do not charge extra. Of course, their pricing is dynamic and they may earn a huge premium by selling tickets at the last moment. Are these outlets trying to recover these charges from us? But if this mode of selling doesn't make business sense, then it should be shut down. They shouldn't try to recover these costs from us. And they can't charge us a premium for this service, claiming that it is convenient for you. Ultimately, it also makes business sense for them too. They are able to reach a more number of people, middle men get reduced to a large extent, confirmed buyers available much earlier and less dependence on man-power. But still they charge and still we pay!!

Shouldn't journalists be only reporting?

Before writing this post, I was just checking the definition of a journalist. Wikipedia says

A journalist collects and disseminates information about current events, people, trends, and issues.

This means that a journalist should convey the train of events in a manner that they have occurred. A journalist should not be colouring the report with his or her own opinions or political leanings. That, I guess would be the forte of a good journalist. And the job of colouring events with opinions should be left to analysts, is what I feel.

But now-a-days, journalists are trying to become analysts themselves. News channel reporters go over the top in making conclusions in less than 30 seconds. The Times of India is known for its pro-Congress stance. Being pro-Congress is fine, but it is anti-BJP. And hence, its reporters, and probably editors too, try to paint every reaction of a BJP leader in a way so as to prove that Congress is much better than the BJP. Just see this headline-

Congress did not initiate anti-Sikh riots in 1984: Gadkari

The headline meant to say that the BJP has exonerated the Congress from its role in the anti-Sikh riots. Subtly, it means that the BJP is withdrawing from its earlier stand, which maintained that the Congress party members actively supported the riots. And hence, trying to show that the BJP is a party which flip-flops on its stand.

But, read the interview carefully, and you will realise that Nitin Gadkari has never made such a statement. The statement Gadkari made, in reply to a question was

"Look, some people might be involved in those riots but it would not be entirely correct to say that the riots were initiated by the government."

This statement never ever has the same meaning as the headline. While the journalist writing this report may feel that the headline justifies the content, it is his/her opinion. And that is precisely what a journalist should not be doing. That is a columnist's job. Leave that to them, else they will have to find new avenues to work. But will our media, affected by the "breaking news" syndrome, ever improve? They do not have to go too far. Just read BBC's website and see how they write their headlines. No sensationlisation at all. And the same is true about BBC News. The reporters are one of the most objective ones, the news readers never take sides. But our media is trying to model itself along the Fox-News type of reporting. More sensation than content. And the print media too, is going along the same lines. The fourth estate of the democracy should not be influenced by political leanings, but should be objective in its work. Let people form their opinions. You need not force yours onto them.

Shabbirbhai Biryaniwala: Matheran

Matheran, the small hill station nestled in the Sahyadris, is famous for its "wala". The builder of the Matheran Hill Railway, Abdul Husein Adamjee Perbhoy, was famous as the Matheran Railwaywala. The Adamjees shifted to Pakistan with Jinnah, but left behind the famous Matheran Railway.

This weekend, I and my parents went to Matheran over the weekend. While we wee walking back from Sunset Point, my mother, being the ever enthusiastic and interested lady about local "specialties", asked a local shopkeeper about good restaurants in Matheran. And depending on the type of food you wanted, he reeled out a few names. And, being associated with engineers for quite a long time, my mother decided not to build a statistic from one observation. When we came back to the main market area, she asked a few more shopkeepers who reeled out the same names. Satisfied that we were on the right track, we decided to go to Shabbirbhai Biryaniwala, whose name was suggested to us by all shopkeepers.

Shabbirbhai's restaurant is situated a little away from the main dazzle of the markets. Hence, for tourists who are in Matheran for the first time, it might be difficult to spot it and they might completely give it a miss. The restaurant itself is small, can accomodate atmost 30 people at a time. But Shabbirbhai's biryani is too good. Infact, most of the restaurant's preparations were tasty. Actually, to be safe, we tried Chicken Masala, but I now regret that we could have been more adventurous. It would require a word stronger than "tasty" to describe that dish. We were licking our fingers and hoping for the taste to linger for longer. Ofcourse, we couldn't leave the restaurant without the biryani. We ordered for Chicken Biryani. The quantity was sufficient and again, the taste awesome!! This time we were licking the spoons!

The food was "reasonably" priced. You may find it expensive, compared to what that type of restaurant would charge in the city. But remember, it is Matheran, where goods are hauled up from Neral and then brought into the town on horse back. And, it is a tourist place, where people can earn only during the season time. But then, sometimes, the taste matters more than the price. Shabbirbhai's restaurant is on such place.

I couldn't take any pictures, as it was dark and the lighting in Matheran isn't like Mumbai, where we can't differentiate between day and night. But, next time, when in Matheran, try out Shabbirbhai's place.

Mahatma vs. Gandhi: Dinkar Joshi

What happens, if fate decides that you be born into a family of stalwarts? And again, if fate or you decide that what your parents, ancestors did is not what you want to do? And what, if a lifestyle or a way of life is forced upon you, just because your father follows it and thousands others too follow it out of respect for your father?

Mahatma vs. Gandhi is the tussle between Mahatma Gandhi and his eldest son, Harilal Gandhi. While the Mahatma has given up on worldly pleasures and is leading the life of an ascetic in Phoenix, South Africa, Harilal is not yet ready for such a life. But, he is forced to do so by the Mahatma for two reasons- one is because he (the Mahatma) believes that this is the true way of living life and two the Mahatma wants to maintain his self-righteousness in the eyes of the people.

Young Harilal respects his father a lot. Infact, at one point of time, he joined the Satyagraha movement in South Africa. But, unfortunately, he was labelled as "Junior Gandhi" and thus lost his identity as an independent Satyagrahi. Coupled with this were the expectations that he should follow the Mahatma's step in letter and spirit. But, Harilal saw a lot of contradictions between what the Mahatma said and did. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi forbade his sons from taking education in government schools. This meant none of them could get a matriculate and graduate. But Bapu himself was a barrister and had taken the highest quality education in England. Then, why should his sons be deprived of the privilege? And when Harilal himself promised to rejoin the Satyagraha after completing education. On top of that, to maintain his impartiality, Bapu picks up Chaganlal for a scholarship offered by a certain Dr. Mehta to any person living on Bapu's farm to pursue a barrister's degree in London. To insult to injury, Chaganlal goes back to India without completing his degree.

From this point, the relation between Harilal and Mahatma starts degrading. At every point in his life, Harilal feels that the Mahatma has betrayed him for the sake of maintaining his good image. The book Mahatma vs. Gandhi, written by Dinkar Joshi, captures these events in Harilal's life. The degradation in their relationship, the callous ways of Harilal, his sincere attempts at redeeming himself, his failures in doing so, because of lack of conviction are well chronicled. Despite all this, he still maintains respect for Bapu and his mother, Baa. Once, Gandhiji and Kasturba were travelling by train. When the train stopped on a station, the crowds were waiting to have a glimpse of the Mahatma. And when he came to the door, the crowd erupted in slogans "Mahatma Gandhi ki jai!!" As the train was about to leave, a small group chanted "Kasturba mata ki jai!!" This group was led by Harilal, who felt that a lot of injustice was done to his mother because the Mahatma never respected her feelings and imposed his decisions upon her. What would have happened, if Harilal had not fallen out with the Mahatma? In the words of his own nephew, "He would have been another Mahatma Gandhi, if circumstances were different."

The book may appear like a collection of various episodes, rather than a continuous story. That is because, this first appeared as a series of articles in Gujarati newspapers. Each "episode" captures the slow degradation of Harilal's life. From abandoning home to abandoning responsibilities, his addiction to alcohol and the slow death that it caused. Even death wasn't kind to the son of a great leader. Harilal was found on the verge of death in Mumbai's red-light area (Forase Road). And he died in Sewri hospital, where his body was claimed by his grand-nephew and nephew. Harilal died a few months after the Mahatma. There was one Gandhi, whose funeral was followed and attended by millions and by the greatest leaders of the country. And there was another, who died in penury and whose cremation was a low key affair, where only a few close relatives attended. Apart from them, it did not dawn upon a single soul that the two Gandhis were related.