Desi Breakfast....

This is something very common for me over the weekends. Rush to some nearby 'Shanti Sagar','Udipi restaurant', or for that matter a chain of similarly sounding names but has the suffix of 'Sagar'. Rates are reasonable and this wholesome brunch would cost one Rs.40 at max. Also make sure not to miss the Kape (South Indian filter coffee).


Simple food, it's like the Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's like this, I see so many movies, trailers only [rarely see a movie a month] from Hollywood on the idiot box while having dinner but those are like 'fill-it-shut-it-forget-it'. Those which fit into Raat gaye Baat gaye format. Very few are like Breakfast at Tiffany's, a wonderful film, a classico that has stood the the test of time. Similarly many neatly packaged foods do make a beeline in the racks of the departmental stores but then nothing can stand the taste of the wholesome desi breakfast.

Am, I biased for desi breakfast, hmmm a little bit. But then other than that, I have enjoyed some of the best breakfasts in Edinburgh, Scotland sitting near the Scottish Art Gallery. Each city has it's own charm when it comes to breakfast culture, like when in Paris, Croissant French Toast is common.

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[Pic taken in a small self service, stand and eat food joint.]

Don't you think so...

Infinite space and time has been offered to the media and there are lots of discussion and debate going on about India surging as an economic powerhouse. I am sure each one of us whether in India or abroad would have read or heard about India’s economy which grew by 9.1% in the January-March 2007 quarter compared to the same period the previous year.

This growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to the push the full-fiscal year growth to its strongest pace in about two decades, reports Reuters.

The data that we have today puts the growth for the fiscal year ending March 2007 at 9.4%, which is higher than what the Government had estimated at around 9.2%. It was even touted as the strongest fiscal year growth since 1988-89, when India’s economy grew by 10.5%.

But there is another India, too? Don’t you think so.

I had to cross a small river to reach this place.
These two kids were playing near the kiln.This is a self-sustaining village and see how the entire family survives here. The working place, the living space and the recreation arena for the small kids are all in one place.I know the man, who after a cherished career took this initiative of bringing goodwill and smiles in the lives of these people. I respect this man a lot and someday will tell you the entire story of his journey in life. How he wants the simple common man to use the basics of science and use it the most efficient way, with whatever is available at hand. The kiln is designed the most scientific way and he told me that in a span of 6 months, the rate at which the bricks are produced at the kiln has increased by 35% with the same effort as was used before. Just a nugget of information, this man close to thirty years back was given the 'Best Technical Design' award by the Govt of India for designing the shop floor for a steel behemoth.

And fortunately, this man calls me daily to discuss things and what little I can do in his initiative, any ideas I have in mind and likewise... And I call this man my father, my dad.

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Window With a View.

Yesterday, late evening I had been to NIMHANS to meet a person for a casual visit. This gentleman, Dr.N is one of my father’s friends, someone with whom my father had spent his school days and that relationship continues to this day. Today Dr.N heads the Dept of Psychiatry in this esteemed and reputed hospital. I often visit him, as he calls me to his place to have food and just spend some time. Dr.N, his wife and children are more or less part of my family. Staying away, I visit him on and off to get the feel of home and what I like the most about the family is the simplicity and meaningful deeper relationship.

As I entered the NIMHANS campus and was going towards the doctors’ quarters, it suddenly started raining, the rain drops falling with force and it actually hit hard. To avoid the rain, I took shelter in a newly constructed building around which a new hospital block is being built. There I saw this family, a father, a mother and two kids. One of the kids was around seven years old [Raju] and this cute sweetheart [Laxmi]in the pic is barely less than a year old. The mound of sand, with a blanket on top was the kid’s playground. Since it was raining now, the mother of the baby, immediately got a bed sheet stitched out of the cement bags and placed it over the blanket. The child was playing with an old plastic tiffin box. She was blushing, smiling, and completely carefree lost in her own world, only to constringe herself when she heard a sudden holloa of thunder.

To my understanding, although the material deprivation experienced by this child is often impossible to precisely quantify, it was apparent that she was using this open environment to sustain normal behavioral development and life. She may be completely oblivious of this fact but I feel she had learnt it that life is not going to be easy for her in future and she has to struggle. Her chubby legs, smeared with mud, adorned with skintight ankle bracelets were making small movements, as she was not able to walk. She was crawling.

It continued to rain for another half an hour and I was basking in this simple umbrella of togetherness. The wife of the laborer made tea and all three of us sipped from the broken cups. The kids took sips, from the parent's cups. I was pretty comfortable in their company, and the feeling of consciousness and discomfort disappeared from the laborer’s wife face, the moment I said, 'Chai badiya hai'. The family though hailing from North Karnataka, had picked up few words in Hindi and so our communication channel was not stymied.

Later when the rain subsided a bit, I took the two kids to a small shop within the NIMHANS campus and got chocolates for both of them. The elder one started munching the chocolate as soon as he got it. The other cute one was struggling to peel off the cover. But once she had the chocolate in her hand, it was she and the saliva mixed with chocolate streaming out of her mouth. Intermittently she was kissing me on my cheek. Awesome: rain, tea and now this cute baby.

Before leaving them and rushing towards the campus colony, I thanked the parents and requested them to take care of these two gentle souls. But I have a small confession to make, while I was proceeding towards doctor uncle's house, a question came to my mind. Another three months after the first rains, once the construction at the site gets over, this family would move on, and so also the children wedged in between struggling life and survival. The way ahead is not easy, predictable or certain but then life goes on. Also a question kept pinging in my mind, did I do the right thing by offering the kids chocolates. Well for me, it was simple joy and few moments of ethereal bliss ness. But what if the kids ask the parents, the same stuff the next day, what are they going to do?

On one side are materialism, modern life and commerce, accelerating at a breakneck speed. Plenitude of fortune, accumulation of gigantic power, and intense self-pursuits defines life for one segment of the society. On the other side is a world that is still struggling and manages to lead a life with dignity in a small bed sheet spread on a hillock of concrete.

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[ The pic in the post is shot using my mobile camera. ]

Aaj Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai

Everyone is talking about the Abhi–Ash wedding or at least one gets the news as one browses the Indian dailies in print and digital media. A couple of weeks back this space was ruled by the grand Liz Hurley–Arun Nayar wedding, in Rajasthan recently. But both these media tom-toming events were for the high and the elite, only a selected few were invited, kissne Salman Khan ko shaadi pe invite nahi ke and then our own Sachin Tendulkar was busy getting out of the cricket circles and ignoring all khit phit, being a privileged guest in Big B’s invitee list. With the Indian summer temperature rising, the Indian marriage season is also getting hot and hotter. Recently I attended a wedding function of one of friends in the heart of Andhra Pradesh, at Kurnool.

......following the engagement function, the marriage happened as per customs and traditions on a weekday. Yes, I stress on the word 'weekday' as panditji had predicted this 'day' and this 'time' termed 'subhamuhartam' as the solemn moment for the union of Ha and Sw. Also since it was on a 'weekday', me along with my friends completed my work and travelled towards the destination by the last bus, not taking the car as no one was ready to drive after a day's work. That day night it had rained in Bangalore before we boarded the bus at 10 PM. The soil though not sticky smelled refreshing from the first showers of the monsoons, competing with other colors of the nature.

The hi-tech Volvo bus journey was easy if not perfectly comfortable and we reached Kurnool at 5AM. The city had received few hours of rain early morning, the red soil breathed of earthy fragrance, the air was live with the chirping birds and the streets littered with withered leaves. Resting for a couple of hours in a guesthouse, we were all ready by 8AM when all the functions and rituals were underway in a nearby 'Mandap'.

The entrance to the 'Mandap', a metal and tinsel affair, was flanked on both sides by banana saplings and earthern pots containing tender, vermillion-sprinkled mango leaves and coconuts. The two columns of the gate were connected by arch decorated with a profusion of flowers. The ground floor of the 'Mandap' was dotted thickly with shamianas and people were busy having their breakfast. By the time I reached the first floor where the marriage was happening in a big hall, every inch of the space was filled with people, each one talking earnestly and loudly to the other.

An even greater crush of the people milled around a raised dais at the end. Ha dressed in silk kurta and dhoti looked smart but Sw was quite unrecognizable with the heavy makeup and jewellery most of it gold, dripping from her neck, ears, limbs and braided hair. Very near to the dais, there were few idols and on enquiry, I learnt that 'Gowri Puja' was already performed. The sole intention being 'Gowri' is Mother Durga who symbolizes divine power, energy, womanpower, fertility, etc and this is performed to seek the blessings for the bride.


When the marriage function started, the panditji initially went through a series of rituals like cleaning the groom’s feet with water, exchanging betel leaves, betel nuts, coconuts, etc. Like in north India, where the 'agnihotram' (sacred fire) is the epicenter of all the action, here I found that such a practise existed but of a toned down version.


Musicians played the music from one end of the hall relentlessly and a wave of a hand was enough to tell them to increase the drum beat levels when it was time for the groom to tie the mangalsutra around the bride’s neck and another wave told them to stop playing. At the end of the mangalsutra tying ceremony, the couple put garlands around each other's necks.

Rice being the staple food was poured in abundance over each other's head by the couple in a joyful manner conveying prosperity and abundance. And all those assembled showered flower petals and uncooked, turmeric-colored rice. Beyond the luxuriant foliage of the dais’s decoration, the men were informally dressed in loose shirts and trousers to beat the damp heat. The women made no concession to the weather and were dressed in Kanjeevarams and saris with heavy silk-thread work. Tiers of gem-encrusted gold clung from their necks, ears and arms, not to mention the dense smell of perfumes.


I was standing at one corner dressed in my CK Jeans and a simple blue shirt keeping my shutter busy, while relishing the spectacle of an Indian wedding. I watched with interest as guests came one by one, deposited a large and gaily-wrapped parcel onto the couple’s hands, wishing them a long and happy married life and then posing for a photography. I pity, no no I acknowledge both Ha and Sw as they stood there for close to two hours, accepted the gifts with plastic smiles on their faces, something similar to those that we see in Hindi film 'mahurats'. The flip side of this is later on down the years, when the couple surf through the album, they can get to know that 'this-uncle-that aunty-this cousin-that relative' had come to their wedding and feel nostalgic about it.

The lunch was simple South Indian food, completely vegetarian and dishes comprised of rice, sambar, spicy brinjal curry doused in oil, bhindi and kaju fry, lemon rice, etc to name a few. The buffet lunch was laid in an enclosed space where several tables were neatly arranged as in a regiment. Though the fans whizzed busily above them, it was extremely hot. Crowds of people stood around with plates in their hands, talking, looking around to make sure they were seen. Occasionally they also ate. There were lots of kids running wildly in the food court, competing with their friends as to who would consume the maximum scoops of ice-cream and often in their carefree escapade they bumped against few others in the crowd, spilling the gravy on the shirts and saris. But then, who cares when the kids are having a 'ball-of-a-time'.

It was late afternoon by now and I took some rest after a heavy lunch, before exploring the small mid-town of Kurnool, taking myself out of the cool confines of my A/C room. The rugged landscape with its boulders tumbled about in disorderly masses and glowing like dull fire in the early hours of twilight, possessed a strong and hardy personality. This was comforted by an accidental yet amicable encounter with a nimbu pani seller. Somehow time passed by and it was night, time to board the bus for our return trip.

I fortunately got the window seat and the moment I was seated comfortably, I switched on my iPod, which started humming the songs on my favorite list. I looked through the windowpane. The crescent of the moon thrust a pale light through the translucent film as I reflected upon the superior character, tradition and belief which one finds so often in these simple and age-old customs and functions. I had slept in the mean while, to wake up in the morning when the sunrays struck on my face. Despising the grimy hovels, glassy shops, ornate places, match box apartments, and efficient-looking office blocks which are today’s Bangalore, I return to my flat in order to continue with my daily life, chores and ruminations.

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( Note: Trivia on this, note that this blogpost name is a song from a movie. Can you guess the name of the movie. )

kuch ish tarah....

splendidly pure voice....straight from the heart....floats out as if descending on the periphery of the last drop of tear, still holding strong....strikingly natural use of the vocal chords....relaxed, quasi improvisational style of singing and suggestive diction, to bring the distant world of flip of someone’s eyelashes and sacrosanct tears close to the listener...

kuch ish tarah teri palkein meri palkon se mila de
aansoo tere saare meri palkon pe sajaa de

freshness in voice as in steam escaping from the freshly brewed pot of tea....a symphony of colors, of pureness, that reinvigorates the spirit with the simplicity of a 'walk-in-the-woods' early in the morning....

a climate of musicological and philological rigor to fight pain and misery....the emotions are shaded and highlighted of soulful melancholy....and phrases are perfectly sculpted....

mujhko toh tere chehre pe yeh ghum nahin janchta
maayiz nahin lagta mujhe ghum se tera rishta



I liked this song, my best in the Doorie album by Atif Aslam. Neat song with more display of talent and less use of instruments and its sort of 75% 'un-plugged’ kind of song. The song kept buzzing in my sound sytem at home, [my maid at home laughed and thought that I have gone mad for repetitive playing of this song :)] on my laptop [grrrrrrrrrrrrr, please don’t disturb me when I am on headphones, I use my earplugs rarely ;)], on my iPod while traveling and commuting and now here on my blog.

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What is it ?

I call this simplicity, well can’t think of any word just at the drop of a hat. But ironically, simplicity is not a very simple word to define, in part because it is comprehended and personified in so many different flavors and tones. And on top of that for a wide variety of reasons.

The night was dark, the crowd was in trance as the music was enchanting, and one sight arrested my attention. This expression was more powerful than everything around me, both animate and inanimate. My fingers clicked on the shutter and the end result is earthy simplicity.

Simplicity is harmonious and appropriate. Though, I am not that erudite in the rich classical literature, but know for a fact that even Leonardo Da Vinci said, "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

To me it plays on the idea that being simple isn't banal, it's elegant, graceful and freshness.

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Brand It Like Dabbawalla.

Last week, I saw one company, which was certified a global certification in process improvement approach that is based on a process model. A process model is a structured collection of practices that describe the characteristics of effective processes, the practices included are those proven by experience to be effective. There were lot of celebrations and 'yes-we-are-there' feeling was billowing in the environ. Yesterday late night while I was going through my regular RSS feeds, read one news that made me think, the difference in approach and practicality of its application.

"The Mumbai dabbawallas have been a world-famous case study. How they operate with virtually no logistics is what amazes the whole world. In our management textbooks, we can only teach students certain theories and how those can be applied. But these people can show how logistics problems are solved in reality. This will not only be a learning experience for our students but also for the students from Nabraska University," said professor Probir K Gupta, dean of VGSOM.

Members of the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association (MTBSA) gave a lecture at the Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSOM) IIT, Kharagpur, on logistics and supply chain management on Mar’12th. The audience included students and teachers of the engineering and management sections of IIT Kharagpur, along with 30 students and 7 faculty members from University of Nabraska Omaha, US.

This is not the first time that the dabbawallas of Mumbai have offered a lecture, they have done so in almost all the top business schools in India, including the IIM’s.

Now, a simple guess what do global giants like General Electric and Motorola have in common with a humble tiffin delivery network comprising 3500+ dabbawallas, who deliver 1.5 lakh lunch boxes to citizens in Mumbai each day? The dabbawallas have the Six Sigma rating or an efficiency rating of 99.999999, which means one error in one million transactions. Forbes Global, the famous American business weekly, has given this rating to them. They apply in a simple and pragmatic way the principles of logistics, operational efficiency and supply chain management.

But have we ever reconginsed them and acknowledged the innovation that these largely illiterate dabbawallas have done. I guess they have been in news on and off and their case studies have been discussed at large at the top MBA schools in India and in other parts of the world. Beyond that nothing much, why?

The reason is simple. These dabbawallas never attended business schools, corporate board meetings, exchanged business jargons but the way they run the show is like Nadia Comaneci’s Perfect 10. They are management gurus with a difference lacking the chamak dhamak and polish of corporate culture. They work with their heads and speak from their hearts. They do not speak English and what if many of them are illiterate and wear white kurtas and Gandhi topis and not the business attire of suit-boot babu style. Each dabbawala, like any businessman, has his share of investment, two bicycles (approximately Rs 4,000), a wooden crate for the tiffins (Rs 500), at least one white cotton kurta-pyjama (Rs 600), and Rs 20 for the trademark Gandhi topi. Let’s do a simple calculation assume that 4000 (cycles) + 500(wooden crate) = Rs. 4500, this remains constant for say 12 months (note this is an over stepped up estimation, the usage of cycles and the crate is for a much more longer duration) and the 600 (kurta-pyjama) + 20 (topi) = Rs 620 spent say every 3 months. The Dabbawallas still offer their services at dirt-cheap price (Rs. 300/month), to satiate the hunger of their customers with a clockwork precision. The organization treats each of its members as a shareholder and pays anywhere between Rs. 5000 to Rs. 6000 per month.

Think about survival in a city like Mumbai, with this mehgainyee with Rs.6000 a month, this amount is not for a single person but for a family comprising on an average say 4 members.

Still they deliver and deliver shaan se and dil se.

Shaan se because :
They have no trade unions and till date there has hardly been any strike posed by the group members on grounds of mis-understanding or disparity of views and understanding.

Dil se because :
Even in this age of mobile and internet, suppose a house-wife wants to pass of some important document that needs to reach the husband, a small pocket in the dabba’s bag becomes the via media for the transfer, of course the delivery man is the dabbawalla. The dil ka connection runs so deep that even Nokia roped in these people for its latest branding exercise.

Their secret lies in a coding system devised over the years. Each dabba is marked in indelible ink with an alphanumeric code of about 10 characters, like. In terms of price and the reliability of delivery, dabbawallas remain unbeatable. See here, how one of the Mumbaite is so pissed off by the accuracy that, he wants some amount of in-efficiency to creep in, so that he can have food made by someone else other than his dharmpatni who anyhow prepares food for his breakfast and dinner.

Oh kismat, oh badnaseebi, what hast thou done to me? Shouldn't they come down to Sigma 4 or even 3 levels and make mistakes more often so that at least once or twice a month everyone gets a dabba cooked by someone else's spouse?

With their six sigma standards, they make only one mistake in 60,00,000 deliveries. Their website states that they make 1,75,000 deliveries a day. Excluding Saturdays and Sundays there are about 250 working days in a year.

By giving this one example, all that I am trying to convey is that the innovative potential of the people does not plummet to zero, when the people are illiterate or semi-literate. This group of people has achieved something stupendous, the simplest way that even business tycoons like Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic Airways fame can’t ignore their business model.

"It is always good to experience the local flavour of the city with local people rather than sitting in a hotel. It is fascinating to enjoy the feel of the city with such a simple group of people," he [Branson] added.

Dabbawallas achieved another milestone when Shobha Bondre wrote a book on them titled "Mumbaicha Annadata", which was released by Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Prince Charles was so mesmerized by the operation style that he had sent invitations to few of them for his wedding. In reply, Raghunath Medge and Sopan Mare couriered their gifts to Camilla behen and Charles bhau.

Like in any business, with growth comes the question of expansion. The dabbawallas had also thought of this but then declined the plan for obvious reasons.

"Mumbai's geography makes it unique," Medge points out. "It is a longish city where residences are in the north and offices in the south, so it makes our work simple. We tried a similar service in Delhi a few years ago and it didn't work out; Delhi being a circular city, the logistics were difficult."

Next time you feel Hungry kya? What would you like, pizza from the local Domino's (30 minute delivery) or a fresh, hot meal from home? Ask any Mumbaite and you have the answer. With the rise in fast food joints and meals available everywhere, the number of people who eat their lunch from dabbas has plateaued but still this team goes on and on and on the life continues...

A few days back I was having a chat with a colleague of mine, over the mechanism that drives the knowledge industry and the dabbawallas with the epicenter of discussion being processes and quality control. She went ahead and re-affirmed her stance that the knowledge industry is altogether different and here we play with tons of data/information etc. My reply was "So What?" . Just as a knowledge industry worker/programmer deals with data, the dabbawalla deals with dabba, note that "d" is the common letter, just with a different implication and signifance in a different scenario.

For a knowledge industry worker/programmer his/her playground is the data that s/he has and s/he dribbles with it to meet the end results. So is a dabbawalla, the dabba is his world and he dribbles it through Andheri, Borivli, Mulund, Church Gate, etc and makes it reach his customer.

Was I correct or in-correct, even I don’t know? Post replies with your views, email on my profile.

All have heard or read about the dabbawallas, but do you know the tiffinwallas, another great story to reckon.

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International Women's Day

The present generation, the neo-age past the 1990’s, liberalized and globalised times have brought a frenzy of activity in political and social life, and business and personal spaces. It says thumbs up for women in many spheres and a case of "still working at it" in others. As every year this year also, Mar 8th is celebrated as International Women's Day [IWD] to inspire women, celebrate their achievements and above all make them feel proud of their womanhood.

The 2000+ era has not only been eventful but also brought a huge number of victories for women. It also brought heartbreak when thousands of innocent women and children were killed in mind-boggling terrorist attacks all over the globe, the center stage of this turmoil being Southwest Asia. But as is usual, this generation has two distinct sides to it. On the positive side, women made globalization a reality of their lives when business, politics, and above all ideas and "openness" view took them to various shores and they made a mark in the international arena. The scene is not that hunky dory with all niceties and has its own share of problems for the women, the issues just varies according to class, creed and group. It varies from dowry, to sexual harassment, to subjugation, to eve teasing, etc. But the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

The global political scenario changed when Angela Merkel, became Germany's first woman Chancellor last year and also the first leader since unification to hail from the formerly communist East. Critics for reinvigorating U.S. diplomacy laud Condoleezza Rice, the present Secretary of State for US Govt, though many have questioned whether she could sculpt a much-needed grand strategy. She has responded so far with one built around promoting democracy worldwide, without compromise, as a cure for everything from terrorism to economic downturns. But this strategy already hangs by hairs in Iraq and a tumultuous Middle East.

Opening my morning newspapers, these days I find some interesting news from the US political circle, a welcome deviation from Bush’s volumes of false promises of setting in peace soon. "I’m in. And I’m in to win" was the headline reporting that Hillary Clinton had tossed her hat into the 2008 US presidential race. I assume that Hillary, with her own savvy skills, long exposure to the global media and a master strategist as a spouse will hold herself in the widening field of Democratic hopefuls. It’s a different story that, even if US is called an advanced country, will it accept a female as it’s President. Time will tell and the race is on.

Now come to France, few months back, the Socialist candidate Segolene Royal was the clear favorite for the post of President but today the UMP candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has emerged as the consistent favorite in the polls. Why has the Socialist candidate, the first woman who had a serious chance to be elected President of France, fallen from grace so quickly? No comments again as they say in politics anything can happen and so keeping fingers crossed and waiting for the results.

Well when it comes to France, I know some great people there from this land. I know So for a long time and she is my mentor, my guide and helps me like her younger brother. So is one of the smartest women, whom I know, a business grad from one of the best business schools in Europe. She manages business development in one of the largest technology and product companies in the world and handles its growth for various geographies. I am amazed the way she multi-tasks, from her work to travel, from her music classes [she is a trained musician and performs in Paris] to fitness and reading. So is an avid traveler, a storehouse of various cultures and has journeyed to South Africa, the entire Europe, the US and best part is she knows more about North India travel destinations than I do after her visits to Rajasthan, Delhi, etc. During my last visit to Paris, it was So who proposed that we explore the Chateau of Versailles. It was one of the best places, I have seen to date having seen the other must-see places in Paris in my previous visits.

Now how can I go round the globe and forget the Indian women, the Bharatiya naari.

Last year will remain memorable for two women, one an Italian but naturalized Indian and other an Indian, but naturalized American, joining the exclusive Forbes Club of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress, was ranked the third most powerful woman in the political arena and as everyone is aware as she is the person who actually runs the government, true to the Nehru-Gandhi family style.

Finance and banking, business and industry saw the rise of women who now occupy positions of power and influence on the projected growth of the Indian economy. The list is endless but to name a few are Naina Lal Kidwai of HSBC, Chanda Kochar of ICICI, Lalita Gupte of ICICI, Kiran Shaw Muzumdar of Biocon, Sulajja Firodia Motwane of Kinetic Honda, Padmasree Warrier of Motorola, etc. I mean the list includes lots more and I am sure about that, just that I am not aware about them.

Since the time, I am in B’lore for the last 4 years, I am fortunate to be in association with Vi[ also worked in her team ], an engineer from IIT Kanpur, a mother of two smart kids, a proud wife, a loving daughter-in-law, an intelligent technical architect and a wise manager who has served in some of the best technology conglomerates in the US and in India. I am able to say all these things about her, as I speak to her anything and everything, both professional and personal and its like she listens with a patient ear and then speaks her mind. Of late, I have not visited her place for a while though I speak to her over phone and emails. Yesterday she called and her first reply on phone was "theek hai tum ghar aao, meet V and I [her smart kids] and P [his husband, but I call him dada]". And as usual it ends with an open invitation for nice homemade food. To me it’s like going to my home, when I am at her place and to add to all this, there is Vi’s mother, an elderly lady, the warmth of the house and it feels celestial to be there.

The face of Indian Law and Justice saw a sea change, a sort of revolution when women succeeded in their protests to bring justice to two women, Priyadarshini Mattoo and Jessica Lal who had been killed brutally by hi-society men and the courts had earlier acquitted the killers for "inadequate evidence".

I have spoken so much till now but if you notice, there is one factor common to all. The common factor is education, access to information and opportunities, and their presence in urban areas and centers of growth.

Despite their considerable involvement and contribution, women’s role in rural India is confined to household chores, livestock production/ maintenance, cooking and last but not the least producing kids, preferably boys, otherwise consequences are dire. To put it straight their role has often been underestimated or, worse, ignored. Gender-blindness is partly the result of a paternalistic bias, but also of the attitudes of women themselves, who may have been conditioned by their culture and society to undervalue the worth of the work they do and also about their gender/feminism.But there is a change in trend, these days as voluntary organizations have mushroomed in mid-towns and villages, organizing workshops and seminars on women's issues, giving legal aid, health training, providing for self-help savings. These schemes, doing developmental activities, create an image of tremendous growth and proliferation of the women's movement.

My mind races back to the days of “Doordarshan”, when Ramayana and Mahabharata on weekends were the star attractions. If you can re-collect there used to be an AD that used to be telecast very frequently then, "Saat Swaad main lijat, lijat papad". It was named "Saat" meaning seven as it was started by seven women from the terrace of Lohana Niwas in Girgaum, a thickly populated South Bombay suburb. Today it employs a little over 50K women and has been hailed as one of the greatest rags to riches stories of contemporary India, what started as the all women run and managed co-operative organization before the age of liberalization, globalization and digitization. With time as the sales took a northward ride, the top brass of lijat, adopted all possible mediums to market and promote their papads and other products. Lijjat today commands quite a healthy export sheet, sites like Amazon and ebay are selling lijat papads online. This is what I call the marriage of technology and grass root industry to reach newer heights of success and profit making. Mind you all this, was managed by women most of them who have barely studied beyond primary education.

Also another person, my maa is a simple lady, and after all her children stood on their on legs, she does something that I am really proud of. She along with a few other ladies from our neighborhood in my hometown has started a small center. The backyard of our house serves as the workshop where tribal men and women come and work with her, bringing to life some forms of art and sculpture which are dying and decaying in this age of consumerism. Also note that this is no-profit center and the products are not sold, it just that she wants the tribal art to get due recognition. This time when I was home in Dec’06, I asked her how is she going to run the show, her reply was simple, "I am putting my passion and I believe in what these people are doing. Money is not that important and if people like this they should come forward and take this initiative forward. It’s more like making the tribal people feel that they can also do it". I presented few of the cards to my friends in B’lore and abroad, which I got from home and they were all surprised as everything was handiwork starting from paper to colors to the final palm leaf cards. I love you maa for what you are doing.

Everyday we come across stories of molestation, sexual abuse and rape in media reports. But there are cases that never get reported because the degree of violence of the act is not serious enough to grant it space even in local newspapers, forget leading dailies. What if media doesn’t give them space, there is the big open world of blogs. Recently a women’s movement called Blank Noise, lead by Jasmeen Patheja, who spread her message mostly thorough blogs,[Blank Noise Project] took to busy Brigade Road in B’lore to combat the sexual advances of the male crowd in true Gandhigiri style. Also a few days back while taking to Nik, a junior from my engg school, she told how she punched a fellow male passenger who was trying to be extra smart with her in a crowded bus. That’s smartie Nik, your population needs to explode. Also yesterday late night, I got this email[below is a direct copy paste] from one of my ex-colleagues,S and I will blog on this soon.

Hi RC,

I read your blog Wipe off the Monster and was really touched.
I would request you if you could write something on Sexual Harassment that young girls face from their relatives. This is a very taboo topic but the truth is what all cases you hear is tip of iceberg.

[If you search for Wipe off the Monster on my blog, you can read more there.]

Also I take pride in knowing some simple people down-to-earth, nothing pompous, no airs, no faltu-ka-dhikhawa, kind, genial, affable souls and put to the point, well-liked individuals from my college batch, school mates since my kindergarten days and few friends. Ju is one such person. Also IP, from my nursery days, is a smart person who juggles her simple work life with some yummy cooking and she is a fundu Orissi classical dancer, just that she doesn’t practice that more often these days. Like, I can count these people on my fingers, very few in number but then like Tennyson’s The Brook says "Men may come and men may go but I go on for ever", these selected people have remained the same what-so-ever and are still the same and so the connection continues for ever.

A lot of change has definitely happened for the Indian women in the last 10 years in the positive track, but with lot of dark clouds still looming over. In the process of rethinking the last 10 years of the women's changing image in India, a number of questions come to my mind.

For instance, would the profession of modeling or participation in beauty pageants be an expression of independence and entry into feminist space or falling victim to a consumerist culture that turns women into sex objects? Would 33 per cent reservations for women in elected bodies, women in the police force, judiciary and bureaucracy be expressions of women's empowerment or merely an assimilation of women into the exploitative State machinery?

There are lots of if’s and but’s but in this age of free expression, at least few are voicing their viewpoints with boldness, candidness and practicality.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally, that’s the driving mantra of this age be it work, life, culture, etc. Have a simple day and ensure that the future is bright, equal, safe and rewarding for the entire female fraternity. Make everyday International Women's Day.

Keep reading and remain connected.

[Note: Check out this week’s Outlook magazine, I just read it after I was done with this post, early morning. It has an interesting article on how few Indian women like Vrinda Dar, Anita Nirody and Pushpa Pathak are making a difference in rendering their services for the various rehabilitation and social activities in war torn Afghanistan. Definitely it’s not a job for the faint hearted with rocket attacks, bombing, murder, killing and bloodshed a regular affair there.]

Also this is a special post for RC, as he made his 100th post today.

Thinking Inside 3x5

I have been following a blog by Jessica for a while. Its a coooooooooooool blog and she uses this canvas to think a little more relationally without resorting to doing actual mathematics.

Jessica's way of conceptualising Venn Diagrams, X-Y graph, solving linear equations,
and understanding polygons is so very pragmatic and humourous.

Her little blog is called Indexed [something that I use day-in day-out] and she has created her 'salmagundi' of her ideas in 3x5 inches.

Smart, Simple and Succinct. Smarty Jessica, shine on.

Keep reading and remain connected.